The Twist in the Past
by LJLanham
Summary: What if the Gemma Arrington case was not the first time Booth & Brennan crossed paths? This is not the first time this story has been told, but I've been feeling the pull to put my spin on it. AU with reference to canon.
1. Introduction

_**AN- This is not the first time this story has been told, but it is the first time for me to tell it. It is all outlined and partially written, it will be posted completely. I hope to get back to Gain at some point, but I really hope you will embrace this story. Please read and review. I can't wait to see what you think**_

 **Introduction:**

"Yeah thanks, Cam," Booth said into the phone. "Cops solve crimes, not squints… but at this point, I'm willing to try anything."

"No offense," Cam replied with a laugh.

"I wasn't talking about you," he replied. "You're a cop."

"A cop who spends her days in the basement of the New York City Morgue up to her elbows in dead bodies," she said.

"Okay," he agreed. "You're a squint."

"I gave Charlie her information," she told him. "I only know her by reputation, but if anyone can help you find justice for Gemma, she can."

"Thanks again, Camille."

"You're welcome, Seeley. And don't call me Camille," she said, smiling as she hung up the phone.

"Hey Charlie," he yelled across the bullpen.

"Yes, sir," the junior agent answered, walking up to his desk.

"You don't have to call me 'sir,' Charlie," he said. "Just Booth is fine. Listen, did you have any luck tracking down that anthropologist Dr. Saroyan told us about?"

"Yes, sir," he answered. "Uh, Booth. She's lecturing over at American University. She's got a class from 5-7 tonight." The younger agent handed Booth a folder with the class information.

"Good work," Booth replied. "I'm gonna head over there."

* * *

He opened the door to the cavernous, darkened lecture hall. When he looked up at the woman standing at the front of the room, he was surprised. She was not the elder scholar that he expected. He only saw her from behind, but her auburn hair fell just above her shoulders and she had curves filling out that red dress in all the right places.

Then she turned around.

"Holy shit," he whispered to himself. "No way. It can't be."

He stepped over into a shadowy corner of the doorway before she could see him. He closed his eyes and listened as she lectured to the class. He let the husky tones of her voice wash over him. It was then that he was sure his eyes were not deceiving him. He would never forget the sound of her voice.

He leaned against the darkened doorframe and let himself get lost in his memories.

" _Hey Doc," he called down from the top of the trench the scientists had been excavating. "You can't stay down there all night."_

" _I can, Sergeant, and I will if you continue to interrupt my work," she called back, and though he couldn't see her, he could just picture the fire in her eyes. Teasing that fire out of her had become one of his favorite pass times._

 _When he'd first been assigned this duty, it had really pissed him off. He couldn't imagine whose panties he'd twisted in a knot to be sent into the god-forsaken jungle to babysit a bunch of squints. But Seeley Booth was nothing if not a loyal soldier, and he had taken the assignment as seriously as he would any other._

 _The other guys in his unit looked at it like a vacation, and as such they'd stuck him with the pain-in-the-ass grad student who refused to play by the rules. Temperance Brennan was sure to be the death of him… but man, what a way to go. She was definitely a royal pain, but she was also drop dead gorgeous. He really thought it was a sin to waste that beauty and all those luscious curves on a squint who spent all her time digging up old graves._

 _The girl was hot, but she definitely had a stick up her butt. Booth had made it his personal mission to dislodge it. He'd tried all the usual tricks, but nothing worked. She was probably the first girl to not succumb to his famous charm. Never one to back down from a challenge, he hadn't given up. They'd been in El Salvador for about a month before she'd finally deigned to speak to him like he was a human being._

 _It was then that the ice began to melt and he'd found a few cracks in the walls she built around herself. Once she allowed herself to be human, he found that he actually enjoyed her company. She was funny in an awkward sort of way, and he found it hilarious that at twenty-two, she was clueless about anything having to do with popular culture. He was falling hard for the quirky scientist, and he didn't have a damned clue what to do about it._

The sound of books and laptops closing pulled him from his reverie. She'd obviously dismissed the class, and now he wasn't sure what to do. He'd come here to ask for help in solving Gemma Arrington's murder from one of the country's leading anthropologists… and he still needed her help, but he wasn't sure he was ready to face the "one that got away."

He decided it was best to slip out the door with the students. He'd have to formulate a plan on how to approach her. After all, it had been nearly five years since he'd last laid eyes on her. They had spent an incredible few months together in that Central American jungle, but after they'd returned stateside, he'd never heard from her again. He thought back to what she had been like in the early days of that dig, and he knew that he'd have to tread lightly when it came to asking for her help.

* * *

"It can't be," she thought, as she watched the retreating form of the man in the suit as he attempted to blend in with the students filing out of her lecture hall.

He had often been on her mind over the past five years, for good reason, but she wasn't in the habit of seeing him in places that he wasn't. She was certain that it was not her mind playing tricks on her… Seeley Booth had, in fact, been standing in the back of her class. But why? And why did he not stay to speak to her?

Not that she would have wanted him to. She had spent too many years running from the memory of him. It wasn't fair. They were finally settled. She was enjoying teaching at American and she had a fulfilling position at the prestigious Jeffersonian Institution. In Washington, DC, she was finally feeling as if she'd found a true home. She hadn't counted on the one man that she'd ever allowed herself to have feelings for crossing her path.

Her thoughts were nearly two-thousand miles away as she watched him walk away.

" _Come on, Doc," he called down to her. "You gotta get some rest, and I need my beauty sleep." Even from her position in the trench deep below where he was standing, she could hear the smile in his voice. "Looks this good don't come easy."_

 _He was incorrigible, and she had found herself growing fonder of his ridiculous charm over the past month. When they had first arrived in El Salvador and were introduced to the handful of Army soldiers that were there to help guard the dig, she hadn't paid much attention to any of them. But after a few weeks, she realized that she couldn't go anywhere without seeing one of them, one in particular that is, somewhere in her vicinity. She assumed he'd drawn the short straw and was assigned to watch over her. This happened whenever she participated in a dig in a particularly volatile area. She had a tendency to get more involved in her work and to stay at the excavation site more than some of her colleagues._

 _Eventually, he began to speak to her. She'd learned that he was Sergeant-Major Seeley Booth from Philadelphia. He was kind to her, and she felt as if he genuinely wanted to get to know her. His interest in her seemed different than that of Michael, Professor Stires, who had shown an obvious sexual interest in her since before they'd left Evanston. She had planned to accept his advances on this trip, but that was before she had met the handsome soldier._

 _No one had ever really treated her the way Booth did. He made her feel things that she knew existed, but never thought she would feel. It scared the hell out of her, and thrilled her at the same time. She had begun to the think that perhaps it would be the brash young man in Army fatigues, and not her handsome professor, that would introduce her to the world of sexual pleasure._

 _It was with those thoughts in her mind that she climbed out of the excavation trench late that night. As always, Booth reached out a hand to help her out of the trench and up onto terra firma._

" _Thank goodness, Doc," he said. "I thought you were gonna stay down there all night."_

 _She rolled her eyes, again with the sobriquets._

" _I don't know why you insist on calling me 'Doc,'" she said. "I have yet to present my doctoral thesis…"_

" _It's just a nickname," he said, casually. "Didn't anyone ever give you a nickname?"_

" _No," she answered. Her dad and her brother used to call her Tempe, but that was just a diminutive form of her given name, not really a nickname, she thought as she went to let go of his hand._

 _He didn't release his hold however, he actually pulled her closer to him._

" _That's a shame," he said to her, with a wink. "Everyone needs a nickname."_

 _She felt her breath hitch as he looked down to meet her eyes._

" _Hey Doc," he said._

" _Yes?"_

" _I'm gonna kiss you now."_

* * *

 _ **AN2- So, what do you think? Yes? No? Did I leave you wanting more? Review, please.**_


	2. Chapter 1

**AN- I'm overwhelmed by your response to the introduction of this story. I hope that this first chapter will be as well received. This one brings a little more background on which we'll build the story. It's a little short, but is setting us up for what's coming. Even though this is an AU, it is built around canon… just need to mention that I'm being a bit liberal with the time frame. Again, please let me know what you think.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Seeley Booth let out a long sigh as he popped the top off a bottle of Yuengling. He set the beer down on the counter as he thought back over the events of the evening. At Cam's urging, he'd gone out to American University to meet up with a scientist who could possibly assist him with finding Gemma Arrington's killer.

It was sloppy police work, or at the very least, laziness that had kept him from even noticing the scientist's name. If he had read the file instead of just glancing at it to find the location of the class she was teaching that evening, then he might not have been blindsided by the sight of Temperance Brennan.

He had thought about her often over the years. Once he'd started working for the Bureau, he'd even thought about using his connections to try and track her down. But then, that often hidden insecure side of him came out and he figured that if she had really wanted to see him, she would have made an effort… or at least left a forwarding address.

Thanks to fucking Walter Sherman, it was a couple of months after he got back before he could call her. When he did, he was told that she was gone… without a new number or a forwarding address. Part of him knew he should have tried harder. Unfortunately, that part of him was not stronger than the part that was sure he'd never be good enough for her.

" _Hey, Sarge," Mills called out as Booth walked into the tent. "How's Doctor Bone Digger?"_

" _Good one, Mills," Perry laughed. "Sarge, I don't know how you do it. That one is a real piece of work."_

" _You can both shut the hell up," Booth replied._

" _Oooooooooh," the other two said in unison._

" _We hit a nerve," Perry said._

" _You got a thing for the dirt diver, don't you?" Mills said, laughing._

" _She's hot," Perry replied. "But damn. She's such a pain in the ass."_

" _I said, shut up," Booth practically growled. "And I meant it."_

" _Seriously, Sarge," Mills went on. "You gotta lighten up. Perry's right. She's hot, but she's an egghead. And if we weren't stuck here in this jungle, she wouldn't give you the time of day."_

" _You're an asshole," Booth said, turning and stalking out of the tent._

 _He walked around the campsite, completing the perimeter check. He let his buddies' words swirl around in his head. He knew they were right. She was so out of his league, but that didn't matter when she was in his arms. From that first kiss, he knew that she was 'the one.' He didn't know what that meant for when the dig was over, but he was confident that they would make it. What he hadn't known then, was that a single phone call was about to change the course of his entire life._

* * *

"Talk to me, Brennan."

"Angela," she replied, as she busied herself tidying up the kitchen. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Look," Angela replied. "I know we haven't known each other long… but I'm pretty good at reading people, and I think I know you pretty well. You've been spooked ever since your night class. What's it been… four days? What is going on?"

"I don't know what you mean," Brennan replied.

"Yes, you do, Sweetie," her friend replied, with a sigh. "Part of the way you convinced me to come work at the Jeffersonian was how much _you_ love working there. Brennan, you love the place. You love DC…"

"I do," Brennan agreed. "But I also loved living in California. I spent three years after grad school doing a fellowship at Stanford. They have offered me a tenured position, which is unheard of for someone my age. It is a wonderful opportunity…"

"Stop, Brennan. Just… stop."

"Ang-"

"Don't 'Ang,' me, Temperance Brennan. You and I both know that taking that position would be taking a step backward. What in the world are you running from?"

"I'm not running," Brennan said'

Angela watched as her friend dropped the kitchen towel on the counter. Her mouth was set in a look of defiance. No matter what she said, she was lying. Something happened at that class that spooked her.

"You know I'm just going to keep asking until you tell me. What happened, Bren?"

"Nothing happened, Angela," Brennan said firmly. "You know I like to keep my options open. The offer from Stanford is promising."

"Keeping your options open, huh?" Angela replied with a smirk. "That's why you just took out a 30-year mortgage on this brand new condo, I guess."

"All right, Angela. Yes, I hadn't planned on leaving. But this offer is a really good one…"

"You get better ones every week," Angela replied.

Brennan sighed and closed her eyes.

"He's here, Ang."

"What do you mean, 'he's here'?" Angela asked, and then paused a bit as what her friend was trying to tell her became clear. "OH! _Him_ , him? He's here in DC?"

"Yes," Brennan replied. "So, yes. I'm thinking of going back to California."

"Oh, Bren. You've been running from him for five years. Maybe it's time you stay put."

"I don't know, Angela. I'm not sure I can."

"What happened?"

"He showed up at my lecture on de-fleshing methods the other night."

"And? What did he have to say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? I don't understand."

"He didn't speak to me, Angela. He was apparently standing in the shadows at the back of the class. He left when I dismissed the students."

"And you're sure it was him? I mean… It _has_ been a long time."

"It was him," Brennan answered. "I would know him anywhere."

"Don't do anything rash, Bren," her friend pleaded. "You don't even know why he's here."

"Why didn't he speak to me, Ang?"

"I don't know, Sweetie. But give it time, I have a feeling you'll find out soon enough."

"I don't know if I want to know."

"What happened, Bren? You've never really told me… I mean, you obviously loved the guy."

Brennan nodded. She smiled a rueful smile.

"We were together for about five months," she said. "He was an Army sergeant… a decorated war hero. He served in Kosovo and Iraq. He was nearing the end of his tour of duty and they sent him and a few other soldiers to watch over the dig."

"An anthropological dig that needed army backup?"

"It was El Salvador," Brennan answered. "1998. We were excavating a mass grave left over from the civil war."

"Sexy," Angela said with a smile. "I'm sure he was totally hot in uniform."

Brennan smiled and shook her head.

"He was so charming," she said. "I spent the first month either ignoring him or being rude. I didn't really mean to… but up until then, I'd spent so much time alone- no one really took the time to get to know me. I assumed he was trying to get me to open up so he could go back to his buddies and have a few laughs at my expense…"

"Oh, honey…"

"But he wouldn't give up," she went on with a smile. "Eventually, I found myself opening up to him. And he did with me, as well. We had some similarities in our childhoods. He was raised by his grandparents. After a while, I felt that I knew Hank and Ella as well as I did their grandson…"

"Ella?"

Brennan nodded as she continued.

"…one evening when I had finished working at the excavation site, he told me he was going to kiss me…"

"How romantic," Angela swooned.

"It was," Brennan confirmed. "And I had never felt anything like that before. He had been assigned to watch over me, so we had already been spending a considerable amount of time together… but after that night, things changed. For the first time, I chose to not spend all of my time working. Like the other students and professors involved in the dig, I decided to take some time off from working. I spent that down time with Booth. It wasn't long before we were spending our days… and nights… together."

Angela sat back in her chair and listened as her friend told her story.

"Before I knew it, the work was concluded and we were all preparing to return to the United States. I was going back to Illinois, to Northwestern to present my doctoral theses and Booth was going back to Georgia. He was going to Fort Benning to process his discharge from the Army. We were making plans to get together. We were both in a position to start a new career. We discussed doing that in the same city so that we could continue the relationship that we had begun to pursue in El Salvador."

"Sounds really good, so far," Angela smiled sadly, knowing that the other shoe was somehow about to drop.

"We had about five days left before we would be leaving," Brennan told her. The tears welling in her eyes confirmed Angela's suspicion that the sad part was coming. "And Booth received a phone call… from his girlfriend."

* * *

 **AN2 - Well?**


	3. Author's Note

**Author's note:**

 **Sorry for this brief interruption, guys... but I don't have a chapter ready to post today and I felt the need to address the "guest" reviewer who strongly implied that this story is plagiarized. First, I don't know if you've read my other works, but I have been a pretty prolific writer of 'Bones' fiction for many years, and I don't need to steal someone else's idea. That said, there are thousands of stories posted on this site, and we are all working with the same set of characters and circumstances. This isn't the first time similar stories are posted, and I'm sure it won't be the last. You may have also noticed that I kind of gave up on writing 'Bones' fiction a while ago. This story has been sitting in drips and drabs in notes on my hard drive for a VERY long time. So, to answer your question, yes- I am familiar with the story you mentioned, it is actually what spurred me to move this story from my notes and my head to ff dot net. I said in my very first author's note that I am not the first person to tell this story, but I wanted to tell it my way. The other story you referenced is also not the first. Like I said, we are all working with the same materials here, and we all love these characters, we are going to go down similar paths. Once we get going, you'll see that the backstory is the ONLY thing similar between the two stories. Our writing and our characterizations are totally different, and once I decided to go ahead and post mine, I stopped reading the other one.**

 **Again, folks- sorry for this, but when my character is called into question, I feel the need to respond... and since this person chose to come at me publicly and anonymously, this is the only choice I had to respond.**

 **Please, carry on with your day- and with telling me what you think of the story so far! I should have a new chapter posted tomorrow.**

 **~LJ**


	4. Chapter 2

**AN- Here is the next chapter. Thank you for your patience with my little blurb yesterday. And thank you for your support. I want to be clear, at no time did this one person's comment make me consider not continuing this story. More than 50 reviews in only two chapters tells me that folks want to see this story unfold.**

 **I know it's been moving pretty slowly so far, and this is again a short chapter. I promise, we'll get to the heart of the story very soon, and the chapters will be a bit longer. Thanks again, for your interest… and please continue to let me know what you think.  
**

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 **Chapter Two**

Booth decided that he would have to work through an emissary. It might be the easy way out, but after struggling for almost a week to figure out how to approach Brennan, he decided he needed help.

He knocked on the door and stuck his head in.

"Booth, come in."

"Thanks for seeing me, sir."

"Of course," Sam Cullen replied. This young agent was an up-and-comer. He'd been on the Deputy Director's radar for quite some time, but he had never requested a sit-down. Cullen was intrigued. "Have a seat. How are things going with the Arrington case?"

"That's actually why I'm here, sir," Booth replied.

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Brennan looked up from her desk as she heard the knock on her doorframe. She smiled when she saw Dr. Daniel Goodman entering the office. It wasn't often that her boss came down to the lab.

Her pleasant surprise turned to shock when she saw the man standing behind the Director of the Medico-Legal lab at the Jeffersonian.

Seeley Booth was walking in to her office.

"Dr. Brennan," Dr. Goodman began as he ushered the visitor in behind him. "This is Special Agent Seeley Booth from the FBI. He's come to seek our assistance with a murder investigation."

"A murder investigation?" Brennan asked as she stood to greet them. She kept her eyes on Dr. Goodman and averted them from the man behind him.

"A cold case," Booth said, moving out from behind Dr. Goodman and addressing Brennan for the first time. "A young girl…we're trying to find out what happened to her."

He reached out and handed her a file.

"Agent Booth," Goodman said. "I'll leave you in Dr. Brennan's capable hands."

"Dr. Goodman, I…"

"Dr. Brennan, I know this is outside our usual purview, but after speaking with Deputy Director Cullen, I believe that we might be able to provide some assistance."

With that he was out of the office, with the door closing behind him. Brennan turned and went back to sit down behind her desk, effectively constructing a barrier between herself and Booth.

"Hey, Doc," he said quietly and flashed her a muted version of his charm smile.

"Booth," she said, looking down at the file.

He was quiet as she looked through it.

"So, this is why you came to my class last week," she stated rather than asked.

"You knew about that?" he asked, taken by surprise.

"I saw you leaving," she said, without looking up from the file. "You don't blend in well."

"Doc, listen…"

"My team will assist you with the case," she said, stopping him. "Please have any evidence transported here for examination."

"Of course," he said.

"I have your contact information," she said, causing his breath to hitch. "When we discover something, I will make sure we let you know."

"Bren," he said quietly.

"Again, I will assist with the case, Agent Booth," she replied. "But I can't offer you any more than that. Please," she said. "Respect that… me…"

"Of course," he said. "Call my office when you find something."

He turned to leave.

He stopped at the door and looked back, she was looking down, presumably at the file. He turned away and kept walking.

She looked up to watch him walk away, letting out the breath she'd been holding. She'd thought many times over the years about what it would feel like to see him again. She had been thinking about it even more since he'd shown up at her class last week.

In her romantic fantasies, it never felt like a punch to the abdominal cavity.

She knew he wanted to talk about what happened between them, but she just couldn't… not here, not now.

Dr. Goodman asked her to assist with his case. She would do that. She would make sure that he solved his case and send him on his way.

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"Stupid! Stupid!" he said, banging his fist against the steering wheel. "What did you think she was going to do, you idiot? You had to go and spook her, didn't you?"

At that moment, Booth resolved if not win her back, to at least explain things to her- to let her know he wasn't going anywhere.

Of course, he'd have to get her to at least have a conversation with him.

He knew that she didn't trust easily. He had earned her trust once, and he vowed to do it again.

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" _Booth?"_

" _Yeah," he replied, drawing lazy circles on her back as she rested her head on his chest._

" _Does it always feel like this?"_

" _Love?"_

 _She didn't say anything, but he felt her nod against his chest._

" _Honestly? I don't know. I mean," he stammered, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "I've never felt like this, either."_

" _But… you've had other lovers…"_

" _Yes," he agreed. "But I've never been 'in love,' not really. I thought it was love at the time, but now I know the difference. This is the real deal, Bren."_

" _I hesitate to believe that," she said quietly._

" _Hey," he replied just as softly. "You know I'd never lie to you."_

" _I do," she agreed. "It's not that I believe that you are prevaricating, but that in my experience love never ends well. Everyone who loves me leaves."_

" _Oh, Doc," he said with a sigh and another kiss to the top of her head. "I'm not going anywhere."_

" _I know you believe that, now."_

" _I believe it, period."_

" _My parents, my brother… the few sets of foster parents that truly cared..."_

" _I'm not those people," he said, shifting beneath her so that she could see the sincerity in his face._

" _I know," she answered._

" _That doesn't sound very convincing."_

" _Booth," she said, "I do believe that_ _you_ _believe what you are saying. And I want to believe it, too. But the law of averages tells me to be skeptical."_

" _Baby, we don't have a lot of time here," he said, leaning in for a kiss. "I want to make the most of it. Yeah, things are gonna change when we go back to the States, but I hope it's a change for the better. We will figure it out," he told her, earnestly as he kissed her again. "We will."_

 _She didn't say anything as she nodded against his chest._

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Brennan gathered her team on the platform and explained to them that they would be working on a case with the FBI. She explained how Dr. Goodman had showed up in her office with Agent Booth, and how the agent had asked for their help in solving a cold case.

"No way," Hodgins said, snapping the rubber band on his wrist. "No way am I gonna work with a G-man. Brennan, what do the Feds want with us? We are scientists, not the police…"

"Dr. Hodgins, while I don't completely disagree with you, Dr. Goodman has already assured the Deputy Director that the Medico-Legal Lab will be at their full disposal. Agent Booth will be having the evidence sent here for our examination."

"I don't like it," Hodgins replied.

"You don't have to like it, Dr. Hodgins," Brennan replied. "You just have to do it."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a sarcastic salute, grumbling as he turned to walk down the stairs with Zack hot on his heels.

Watching as the guys made their way to the Ookie Room, Angela walked up to her friend.

"So, I guess now we know why he's here, huh?"

"Yes," Brennan replied crisply. "I suppose we do."

"Did you at least, talk to him?"

"Angela, we have work to do."

"Not yet, we don't. Once the evidence gets here, he's Agent Booth… and we can be nothing but professional. But until then, he's your long lost soldier and you have five years' worth of talking to do. Sweetie, you have to talk to him, you know that."

"I don't have to do anything, Angela."

"If you won't talk to him, then talk to me. Do you still love him?"

Brennan didn't answer with words, but looked at Angela sternly… begging with her eyes for her friend to stop this line of questioning.

"If not for you…" Angela said, letting her words drift off with a meaningful look in their place.

"He tried," Brennan said quietly.

"What was that?" Angela asked. "I didn't hear you."

"I said, 'he tried,'" Brennan answered. "He wanted to talk to me, and I was certain it wasn't about the case."

"And what happened?"

"I wasn't ready, Angela," she replied. "It was not the right time, and certainly not the right place."

"But you will talk to him?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

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 **AN2 –You know what I'm going to say here… click on that little box down there and tell me what you think.**


	5. Chapter 3

**AN- Thanks for your patience with the delay in updating. I'm going to try not to keep dragging this out. I can see it wrapping up in a few more chapters. I think this is the chapter that many of you have been waiting for, so please, please let me know what you think!**

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 **Chapter Three**

Booth stood in shocked silence as the cab drove away. He really thought they had made some progress tonight. It was the first time since she'd come back into his life that they had talked about anything remotely personal.

And that kiss…

Kissing her was like breathing. He couldn't not do it. He wasn't sure how he'd survived the last five years without it, but he was determined to never go without again.

They were absolutely on their way to bed when she put on the brakes and left without him. As much as he hated it, he knew it was the right thing to do. So much time had passed since they'd been together and so much had changed in their lives… he wasn't that cocky soldier and she wasn't that awkward young grad student. So much had happened in their time apart, they had to do some talking before they just fell into bed.

He thought back over the course of the evening. He hated that Caroline had forced him to "fire" Brennan. Right now, work was the only contact he had with her. Of course, they had also come to the understanding that if they didn't work together, there might be room for other things between them.

God, he hoped that would come to pass.

There were very few days in the past five years that had gone by without him thinking of her. Regretfully, she had come to hold the position of "the one that got away" and now that he'd found her again, he realized just how much of an understatement that really was.

While he knew that her leaving was the right thing to do, he wasn't ready for the evening to end. He was afraid that if they didn't take advantage of the openness that they had found this evening, everything would go back to business and their chance would be gone.

He knew what he had to do.

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She turned in the seat and watched Booth standing in front of the bar as the car drove away. She had let her guard down tonight… just a little. Just enough to know that she'd put it off long enough. They had spent quite a lot of time together over the course of the investigation. Although they had spent most of their time discussing the case, she had been able to gain some insight into the person that he was today. He had fired her, so she wouldn't be working with him. This would allow them to explore a personal relationship. She had confirmed that he was not involved in a serious relationship, and this surprised her. She had assumed that he would still be with his son's mother. Knowing that he wasn't and that he seemed very interested in pursuing a relationship with her had given her pause.

She'd like to blame it on the tequila, and she had, but she was smarter than that.

That kiss.

Kissing him was amazing. It was just as incredible as it had been five years ago. And once she'd started kissing him, she knew she wasn't going to want to stop.

They had definitely been on their way to bed, she couldn't let that happen before he knew everything. So much had happened since they had parted ways in that jungle… and none of it what they had been planning before he received that phone call.

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* * *

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" _Booth!" Perry came charging out to the excavation site._

" _Whoa!" Booth called, jumping up to stop the soldier before he ran into the table where Brennan had been setting out the items she'd pulled up from the trench._

" _Sorry, man," Perry said, pausing to catch his breath._

" _What the hell has got you charging out here like that?" Booth asked._

" _Phone call," Perry answered._

" _For who?" Booth asked, suddenly alarmed. It wasn't like it was common occurrence to receive phone calls on assignment, especially out in the middle of the jungle._

" _You," the other man answered. "We're leaving next week, but dude, you've gotta go now."_

" _What the hell are you talking about?" Booth asked, not realizing that the commotion of Perry's arrival had brought Brennan up from the depths of the excavation trench._

" _Your girl, Sarge," Perry replied. "She's going into labor. You're gonna be a daddy, Booth." He laughed heartily as he clapped Booth on the shoulder. "Congrats, man."_

" _You should go, Booth."_

 _Both men were shocked to see Brennan standing behind them._

" _Doc," Booth said, devastated by the look in her eyes._

" _Don't," she said._

" _I'm just gonna…" Perry said, pointing in the direction of the camp as he turned and jogged down the trail._

" _You should go," Brennan repeated._

" _Doc," he said again, reaching for her. "Bren," he said, pleading. "This isn't what it looks like." He winced at the cliché of it all._

" _Isn't it?" she asked. "Is there or is there not a woman with whom you are in a relationship back in the States who is about to give birth to your child?"_

" _No," he answered emphatically, chuffing out a loud sigh. "I don't know. Maybe…"_

" _Go, Booth," she answered, turning around to keep him from seeing the tears that were welling up in her eyes._

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Brennan was startled by the knock at the door. She glanced at her watch. The only person who would normally show up at her door at this hour was Angela, and she had just left. She must have forgotten something.

"Just a minute, Ang," she called out, walking toward the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Seeley Booth standing in her threshold. "You're not Angela."

"Great observation skills there, Doc," he said with a smile. "And that's what they make that peephole for," he told her, pointing to the lens in the door. "You really should check it before you open your door. Especially at this hour."

"You're right," she said, biting her lip.

"You gonna invite me in?" he asked.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said.

"Come on, Bren," he said softly. "We were just getting somewhere when you took off on me. I couldn't let that happen. Not again." He reached out and took her hand. "We've got a lot to talk about. Don't you think we've waited long enough?"

"It's late, Booth," she said, not looking up at him, but not pulling away, either.

"Yeah," he replied. "It is."

She stepped aside to allow him entry into her home, closing the door behind him as he walked in to the living room.

"How did you find where I live?" she asked.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, Doc," he said. "Special."

"That's an abuse of power," she said, smiling. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I think we probably had enough earlier tonight," he said.

"Perhaps I should put on a pot of coffee," she suggested. "I have a feeling this may take a while."

"Sounds good," he answered, following her into the kitchen.

Enjoying watching her work, he leaned against the corner where the counter met the peninsula crossing his feet at the ankles.

They spent some time with small talk. They were sitting next to each other on the sofa when the subject of his son came up.

Brennan felt a pang of something she didn't really recognize when she saw the light in Booth's eyes at mention of his son.

"He's the best thing that ever happened to me, Doc," he said, smiling.

She smiled wistfully when she thought about what he'd been missing.

"Parker is the light of my life, Bren,' he told her. "But what I want you to know, and what I tried to tell you that night in El Salvador is that I'm not with his mother. I wasn't with her five years ago. I didn't even know she was pregnant until Perry came and told me she was labor…"

He reached over and crooked a finger under her chin. He had to be sure she heard what he was telling her.

"… I met Becca in college. We dated for a while, but it wasn't ever going to go anywhere. Not really. I was just a schlub from Philly getting ready to go in the army. She was from a rich, distinguished family in Maryland. We broke up before I left for Basic."

"But that was four years before we met…"

"Yeah," he answered, a pang of guilt hitting him in the gut. He wasn't particularly proud of his behavior when it came to Rebecca. "We ran into each other a few times over the years," he went on, "when I had leave, sometimes she'd show up in Philly and we'd hook up."

"Hook up?" Brennan asked. "You didn't rekindle your relationship?"

"Never," he answered. "The most me and Becs ever were was friends with benefits. We were on the same flight to Atlanta the weekend I was headed to Benning, a couple months before I was sent out to meet your team in El Salvador. One thing led to another, but we were definitely not together when I met you."

"Then," she said, obviously thinking about something. "Why didn't you call when I got home like we'd planned?"

Sherman. If he ever saw that asshat Walter Sherman again, he'd kill him… for real.

"Oh, baby," he said on a sigh. "That's where it gets complicated. I couldn't get leave to be at the hospital when Parker was born. Perry and Mills helped me get out of El Salvador that night… and technically, I was AWOL. I always planned to go back. I just had to know if it was true, if Becs was really having a kid and if he was mine. It turned out that he was, and I had just gotten to hold him for the first time when the MPs showed up.

It took almost three months before I got it all straightened out and the charges dropped. I did call, Bren."

"But I was already gone," she replied.

He nodded.

"No one knew, or at least, no one would tell me how to find you."

"California," she told him. "I got a fellowship at Stanford. I waited as long as I could to hear from you. I just assumed you were building a new life with your family and there was no room for me."

"I did try to find you," he told her earnestly.

"I didn't want to be found," she replied.

"After I joined the Bureau, I thought more than once about using my connections to find you," he said. "But like you said tonight, that would be an abuse of power and I kind of figured you didn't want anything to do with me, anyway."

Brennan was about to reply when they were interrupted by a sound coming from the end of the hallway.

"Mommy?" the little voice said. "I'm thirsty."

"Go back to your room, Ella," Brennan replied. "I'll get some water and be right in."

"Okay," the little girl answered and did as she was told.

"Ella?" Booth asked.

"I have to see to her," Brennan replied.

"I guess we have more to talk about than I thought."

"Yes," Brennan answered. "Let me get her settled," she said. "She usually goes right back to sleep."

"Do I even need to ask?"

She shook her head.

"No," Brennan replied. "She's yours."

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 **AN2- So there you have it. Most of you guessed, and clichéd as it may be… this is the story I intended to tell. Again, please take a minute to let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 4

**AN- Once again, thank you for your patience. Almost as soon as I started posting this story, my life took a huge change. We just got a house and are in the process of moving… and things are crazy at work. My goal at this point is to post once a week. I've been asked for longer chapters, and I totally get that. I normally prefer longer chapters as well, and I will try. But if it is a choice between posting and lengthening the chapter, I'm going to opt for getting something up.**

 **Now, that said- this chapter was tougher than I expected, and I would really love to know what you think!**

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 **Chapter Four**

Booth watched as Brennan walked down the hall to their daughter's room.

Their daughter.

Shit.

He had a daughter.

He'd only gotten to see her for a minute, but it was obvious that she favored her mother. There were so many thoughts swirling around his head, but there was only one thing he knew for sure. He couldn't wait to meet her.

He imagined Brennan sitting on the edge of Ella's bed, the way he'd done so many times with Parker. He wanted so badly to get up and walk down the hall to take a peek into the little girl's room, but he held himself back. There would be plenty of time for that.

He hoped.

He didn't have a clue what Brennan's plans were. He only knew that she'd had his daughter and never told him. What if Ella hadn't shown up in the hallway tonight? Would Bren have told him about her? Was she planning to let him have a place in his daughter's life?

For the first two years of Parker's life, it had been hell trying to see him. Becca had put him off, only let him see his son when it was convenient for her… and used him as a babysitter until he'd finally taken things into his own hands.

That was one good thing about dating a lawyer. Tessa couldn't stand the way that Rebecca had manipulated him into thinking he had no parental rights just because they'd never been married. She had set him up with a friend who worked in family law, and they'd taken Rebecca to court.

He now had formal rights and visitation with his son, but his relationship hadn't worked out. Once he had Parker in his life fulltime, Tessa didn't like feeling she came in second-place to his son. She told him when she left that she'd always felt like she was living in the shadow of a ghost from his past. And then, with Parker, she just couldn't take last place in his life. He'd learned then to keep it casual when it came to any women in his life. He had never introduced anyone to his son and if he were honest, he'd kept himself at arm's length from the women he dated, as well.

He hoped to build a relationship with his daughter. But it was his heart's desire that it wouldn't require the court's intervention. He wanted a relationship with her mother, as well.

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Brennan sat on the edge of her daughter's bed, smoothing the covers over her lap as Ella sipped her glass of water.

"Who was that, Mommy?"

"That is Mommy's friend, Seeley," Brennan answered.

"Seeley?" Ella replied. "That's my daddy's name."

"Yes, it is," Brennan said, taking the glass. "Now, go back to sleep. We will talk more in the morning."

She leaned over to kiss the little girl's forehead.

"Mommy, will Seeley be here in the morning?"

"No, Sweetheart," her mother responded. "But you will meet him soon. Now, go to sleep."

Brennan walked over to the door and turned out the light.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Ella?" Brennan replied, turning back to her little girl.

"Is Seeley my daddy?"

Brennan sighed. She knew this would be the direction of the conversation as soon as it began, but she had never lied to her child, and she didn't intend to do that now. Of course, that also meant the conversation would be much longer than a four-year-old should be having at this hour… and Booth was still in the living room waiting for her.

"We'll talk in the morning, baby," she said. "Now, go to sleep. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mommy," the little voice said. "To the moon and back."

Brennan closed the door behind her and made her way back to the living room, preparing herself to have a long-delayed conversation with Seeley Booth.

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He looked up as Brennan came back down the hall. He stood to greet her as she came back into the room.

"All settled?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "She's probably already sleeping."

"So," Booth said.

"So," Brennan repeated.

"I guess we have a lot to talk about," he said.

"Yes," she replied on a sigh.

He followed her lead as she went to sit back down on the sofa.

"I don't know how to do this," she said. "I've been thinking about it ever since you came in to my class that night, and I don't have any more insight than I did that night."

"She's my daughter," he said.

Brennan nodded.

"She's our daughter," she corrected.

"Of course," he replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply…"

"I know."

"God, Bren," he said, reaching out for her hand. "I hate that you had to go through this alone. You were so young…"

"I was used to being on my own," she said quietly.

"Oh, baby," he said.

Brennan steeled herself to tell their story. She had to just tell him from the beginning.

"I suspected I was pregnant before we left El Salvador," she said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I wasn't certain," she answered. "It often happens on digs that your cycle is off. The stress of the work and the conditions… I didn't know if it was that, or… I mean, I hadn't been sexually active before that. I know my own body, but this was a whole new situation. I planned to tell you when we got back home, when we were together in Chicago like we'd talked about..."

"And I never called," he said. "Damn, Bren. I'm sorry."

"I didn't know how to reach you," she said. "I thought about looking Hank up, but then I thought better of it. I assumed that you were making a family with your girl back home. I realized that what we had was just a jungle fling, and that I had to move on. I had to do what was best for me and my child…"

"And you got the offer at Stanford," he interjected.

"Yes," she said. "It was the best opportunity I had to make a life for us. I had been taking care of myself for a long time, but taking care of someone else was a new thing for me."

"Look, Bren," he said. "This is my fault. I should have tried harder to find you. And believe me, I've kicked my own ass about that a lot over the years. But never so much as in the past twenty minutes. First of all, you were never just _a fling_. I loved you. I loved you like I'd never known it was possible to love someone. I still love you. I haven't been able to make any kind of relationship work in the last five years because I compare every woman I meet to you. You're the standard. Bren, baby," he said, reaching out and taking her hand in his, he held on and made sure she was looking in his eyes. "I want this. I want all of it… you, Ella. I want us to be a family. Do you think we can give it a shot?"

"I don't know," she said.

"Look, I know I fucked up. The situation with the army when Parker was born was out of my control and it took so long to straighten out, but I should have gone to look for you. I should have moved heaven and earth to find you. But I let those little demons from my childhood get in the way. That little devil on my shoulder that repeatedly tells me that I'm not good enough pointed out wholeheartedly that you deserved so much better than a schmuck like me. So, because of you… I got my shit together. I went to Quantico and started on a career path that I'm really proud of. I made a life that I hoped you could be proud of..."

He paused his story and a wistful smile ran over his face.

"Do you believe in Fate?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "It's a ridiculous notion."

"Well, I do," he answered. "And Fate believes in us. It brought us here, to this point in our lives where we both are living in the same city, we both have great careers, and we are in a position to give each other what we probably couldn't have five years ago. I mean it, Bren. I'm not going anywhere this time. I love you, and I want to get to know our daughter. Will you at least let me do that?"

She nodded.

"She wants that, too."

"She knows about me?" he asked, surprised.

"Some," she answered. "I never lie to her. Obviously, when she started going to day care and preschool, she learned about the concept of mommies and daddies. When she asked me if she had a daddy, I told her that of course she did. It takes both a mommy and a daddy to make a baby. She asked where you were and I told her honestly that I didn't know. I told her that you didn't know about her, but that if you did, you would love her very much. She knows your name."

"She does?"

"Yes," Brennan replied. "She asked me tonight who you were. I told her you were my friend Seeley. And she replied that Seeley was her daddy's name. She's a very bright child, Booth. I'm certain she knows that you are her father."

"Wow," he replied quietly. He had a feeling that life with this woman would never be dull. She would never cease to amaze him.

"Booth," she said, taking her hand back from his. "I don't know what this all means. And I'm going to need some time to process everything. I want Ella to have a chance to know you, to have a relationship with her father. I think that the children need to be our first priority. We have to consider Parker, also. He has never had to share his father. We don't know how he is going to react to having a sibling. Let's focus on Ella," she said on a sigh. "And on Parker. We'll see how that goes before we consider a relationship between the two of us."

"I'm willing to follow your lead, Doc," he said with a smile. "And I think I just fell in love with you a little more for the way you made provisions for my son and his feelings. You are a great mom, Bren. Ella is lucky to have you. I want to be her dad. I want to have a place in her life. I hope that she is open to having a big brother, and I'm sure that Parker will warm up to the idea. He's a pretty cool kid, Bren. You're gonna like him, and he's going to love you-and Ella, I'm sure of it.

We'll do this your way, and focus on the kids for a while. But I'm not giving up on us, either. Remember, you're the standard, Bren… and I only settle for the best."

She smiled as a faint blush washed over her cheek.

"We'll see," she said. "We'll see."

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 **AN2- Once I got going on this, it kind of went in its own direction. I really want to know your thoughts.**


	7. Chapter 5

**AN- I'm sort of basing Ella and her speech on my nephew who is almost four… I think about how he would think or how he would say something, and then remember that Ella is being raised by Brennan. I think she should be pretty spot-on as far as speech and maturity, but I guess we'll see as time goes one.**

 **Sorry again for the delay… timing is a wonderful thing. Right in the middle of the hub-bub of moving, I'm off on a friend/family vacation. Three families loaded in to a beautiful river house just outside Charleston, SC. and I'm trying to find time to write/edit/post in the midst of the fun… so, I'm sorry it's a little short, but here you go! Thanks for being patient.**

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 **Chapter Five**

Brennan stood in the kitchen doorway, quietly watching her daughter. She looked on with a bemused smile as Ella tried hard to concentrate on the book in front of her. She could almost see the energy radiating from the little girl as she would occasionally glance up at the front door or over to the big picture window that overlooked the park next door.

She knew what Ella was so anxious about, and if she were being honest with herself, she would admit that she was experiencing similar feelings.

The moment that had been now almost five years in the making was fast approaching. She glanced at her watch. Booth would be arriving any minute.

It had been two days since they'd sat up talking long into the night. She knew that Booth had wanted so badly to meet their daughter, but they had agreed to put it off until the weekend. They wouldn't be working and Parker was with his mother… and Brennan wanted Ella to have her father's undivided attention in this very special moment. Of course, again if she were being honest, she thought she knew Seeley Booth well enough to know that when he finally got to sit down with the amazing little girl that they had created… nothing could take his attention from her.

The past two days had gone by in a whirlwind… wrapping up the case during the day, fielding questions from her daughter in the evening. She and Booth had talked on the telephone late into the night, every night since that night he'd come over. She was surprised at how quickly she found herself falling for him again. Although, she supposed, 'again' was probably not the correct term. It was more a rekindling of something that had always been right below the surface.

As much as she'd tried to convince herself otherwise… that romantic love didn't exist or that it couldn't last... she knew that deep in her metaphoric heart, she had been in love with Seeley Booth since long before they'd left that South American jungle all those years ago.

"Is it time yet, Mommy?"

Ella's question pulled her mother from her reverie.

"Almost, baby," she answered.

She had never been one for terms of endearment, but she often found herself using sweet little sobriquets when referring to her daughter. She smiled to herself as she often did when contemplating her life as a mother. This is not something that she would have ever chosen for herself, but having Ella in her life had been the most rewarding thing she'd ever done. It meant more than three doctorates and all the accolades that came with them.

"Is he going to like me?" the sweet little voice asked.

"He's going to love you, Ella," she answered. "In fact, he loves you already… very much."

"But how? He doesn't know me."

"He just does, baby. And you are going to love him, too."

"Is he bringing my brother?"

"No, sweetheart," she reminded Ella gently. "Remember, we talked about that. Parker is with his mommy this weekend, but you will get to meet him soon."

"Is he going to like me?"

Brennan fervently hoped so. She thought back to her early childhood. She had loved having a big brother, and had always looked up to Russ. She hoped that Ella could enjoy the same kind of relationship with Parker, although he was only six months older than she was.

"Yes," Brennan answered confidently, and hoping she was correct. "It might take some time for the two of you to get to know each other, but you will love each other."

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Booth blew out a long breath as he raised his hand to knock on the door.

He was nervous.

There was no need to be scared of a four-year-old girl. But then again, he had no idea how to do this. He'd held Parker just hours after he was born… he'd known him the boy's whole life. He didn't need to introduce himself. How do you introduce yourself to your own kid?

She was bound to be crazy smart, like her mother.

What if she doesn't like me?

What if she doesn't like Parker?

Snap out of It, Seel. It's just a little girl… your little girl.

He tried to talk himself out of his nerves, but he was so afraid of disappointing her. Brennan had told him how excited Ella was to meet her daddy. He knew how much little girls looked up to their daddies… even Bren- after her parents abandoned her, she still had fond feelings for her father and the relationship they'd shared when she was little. Their daddies are the measuring stick that girls use to "measure" every man they meet, and that little voice in his head kept telling him he wasn't enough.

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"He's here!" Ella called out with a squeal when she heard the knock at the door.

She came bounding into the living room and ran for the door.

"Ella," Brennan called to her daughter from the kitchen. "Wait."

"But Mommy," the little girl whined. "I wanna see my daddy!"

"I know, sweetheart," her mother answered. She walked up next to Ella, smoothing her hair as she held her little girl to her side. She remembered Booth chiding her about opening the door without checking the aperture in the door. "But you know the rules," she said. "We must check to see who is at the door before we open it. We have to be careful of strangers."

"I know, Mommy," Ella replied with a confident roll of her eyes. "But, it's not a stranger. It's Daddy!"

She smiled fondly and shook her head. She knew her daughter was anxious, and assumed Booth was standing nervously on the other side of the door. They had talked long into the night, and both had concerns about this day going well. She knew Booth's worries were unfounded. Her daughter was bright and loving. Ella was very welcoming to everyone she met, and Brennan knew it would be no different with her daddy.

"Come on, baby girl," she said. "Let's go welcome him in."

Together, they walked through to the door and Brennan made a show of checking the peephole. She reached down to grab the doorknob and noticed that her suddenly shy daughter was huddled up closing and peeking around her legs. She smiled and kneeled down to look Ella in the eye. She held the girl's sweet little face gently in her hands, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"Are you ready?" she asked softly.

Ella nodded.

"Okay," her mother replied, standing as she turned back to face the door.

She opened the door to find exactly what she'd expected, a very nervous-looking  
Seeley Booth standing there. In his hands was a bouquet of wildflowers.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied. "Come in."

She stepped aside, moving Ella with her. The little girl held tightly to her mother's side as she obviously stole glances at the man who was her father.

As Booth walked past them, Brennan gently nudged her daughter around in front of her.

"I'm Ella," the little girl said quietly.

"Well, hello, Ella," Booth said, kneeling down in front of her. "My name is Seeley, and these are for you."

He reached out to hand her the flowers, and the little girl glanced up at her mother for permission. Brennan nodded slightly, and Ella reached up to receive the flowers.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're very welcome," Booth replied.

"They are pretty," Ella said.

"Yes, they are," Brennan said, "why don't we go find a vase to put them in?"

"Okay," Ella said, looking between her parents.

Ella followed her mother into the kitchen, while her father stood stock still in front of the now closed front door.

"Booth," Brennan called out over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

Booth shook his head, physically shaking himself from his reverie. He followed the girls into the kitchen.

"Why did you call him Booth, Mommy?"

"Because that's his name," Brennan answered simply, reaching into a cabinet to get a vase.

"I don't really like my first name," Booth offered and Ella turned to him. "So most people call me by my last name."

"That's silly," Ella said.

"Yeah," Booth replied with a smile. "I guess it is. You can call me Seeley, if you want."

"But I thought you were my daddy," Ella said, looking just like her mother with a curious frown gracing her brow.

This time, it was Booth who glanced to Brennan for guidance, and again she nodded.

"Well," he said, reaching down to pick up the little girl to sit her on the counter between himself and Brennan.

If Ella was uncomfortable, she didn't show it.

"I am," Booth answered, letting out a long breath.

"Then shouldn't I call you 'Daddy?'" Ella asked innocently, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

'Out of the mouths of babes,' Booth thought. There was something so beautiful and free in the innocence of children.

"Yes," Brennan answered. "Of course you should."

This surprised Booth almost as much as Ella's initial question.

"I would love that, Ella," he said. "I guess I just wanted to make sure that was what you wanted, too."

"I do," she answered.

"Good," Booth replied.

"Ella," Brennan said. "Why don't you go show Daddy your room? I'm sure he would love to see it."

"Do you want to?" Ella asked, her blue eyes wide.

"Yes," Booth answered. "I would like that very much."

He helped her down off the counter and set her on the floor so she could lead the way down the hall to her room.

Brennan set the vase on the table and watched them walk down the hall. She had been concerned about Booth coming in to Ella's life, but their talks over the past few nights had made long strides toward alleviating her fears. Seeing them together had completely eliminated them.

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 **AN2- Again, I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I haven't had much time to work on this so far during vacation. I just really wanted to get something out for you guys this week. Please review.**


	8. Chapter 6

**OOPS! Due to a little ff dot net snafu, the first posting of this chapter only contained the first 400 words. Let's try again.**

 **AN 1 – So, it's been almost 2 years… I'm not sure if there is still any interest in this story. I have decided to finish it. I wasn't going to start posting until it was completely finished, but I'm a couple of chapters ahead and I really wanted to see if there were still folks out there who wanted to see more of it. Please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Chapter 6**

"She's amazing, Bren," Booth said, as he sat down on her sofa. The goofy grin on his face warmed her heart.

"She really is," Brennan agreed, walking past him and into the kitchen.

They had spent a lovely day together. Ella had introduced her daddy to each and every one of her dolls, and showed him how to use her toy microscope. She was in the process of showing him each one of her book when Brennan suggested they go down to the park.

An afternoon spent on the playground led to dinner at the neighborhood pizzeria that served Ella's absolute favorite cheese pizza. Then, back home to watch _Disney's Beauty and the Beast_ on DVD. Booth realized he had a lot to learn.

" _You've never seen Beauty and the Beast, Daddy? That's just silly. It's my favorite movie in the whole wide world. I've seen it at least one-hundred times." Ella had said as she climbed up into his lap._

" _She isn't exaggerating," Brennan told him with a smile._

 _Booth couldn't believe this was really happening as his little girl snuggled against him and began a running commentary to make sure he would learn all the ins and outs of her favorite movie. Was it really less than two weeks ago that he accidentally crossed paths with the love of his life… and only a few days since he'd discovered he had a daughter? Now, here he was with said daughter curled up on his lap, and her mother sitting only a few feet away looking like she was feeling as nostalgic as he was. Today was a day he would never forget._

Before the movie ended, Ella had fallen fast asleep. Brennan had moved to pick her up and take her to bed, but Booth offered to do it himself. He carried Ella to her room and waited in the doorway while her mother busied herself with getting the little girl ready for bed. The two stood together silently watching their little girl sleep for several long moments before they finally closed the door behind them and made their way back to the living room.

This is where they found themselves now, discussing their amazing daughter.

"Thank you," he said to her.

"For what?" she answered.

"This," he said. "Today. Giving me a chance to get to know our daughter. Giving me a chance to make things right with you." He reached out to her, and she allowed him to take her hand in his. "Come," he said. "Sit with me."

"Booth…" she cautioned. She had an inkling where this conversation was going and she wasn't ready to have it. Yes, it had been a wonderful day, and she hoped that it was a foreshadowing of things to come. And yes, she had used the children as a sort of buffer to delay entering into a relationship with Booth… but it was true that they had to come first. Parker still didn't know that he had a sister. It was going to be hard enough on the little boy to have to share his daddy with Ella, she didn't want him to have to worry about a woman in his father's life, too. And as excited as Ella was to meet her brother, she had never had to share a parent's attention, either. Things could change completely when she finally meets Parker.

"Come on, Doc," he said, giving her a low-key version of the charm smile that had so captivated her in El Salvador. "I just want to talk. We have a lot to talk about."

"We do," she agreed. "And I'm very pleased with how the day went today. Ella is a happy girl."

"Today was great," he agreed.

"But we haven't introduced Parker into the mix, yet," she went on. "And I can't say that the idea doesn't give me some trepidation."

"Parks is a great kid, Doc," he told her. "Ella's gonna love him, too."

She nodded.

"I'm certain that she will," she said with a sigh. "But I'm not so certain that she's going to love sharing you, and the same goes for Parker. He already has to split his time between you and his mother. If he has to share the time he has with you with Ella, he may grow to resent that… or her."

This was a real fear that had always been in the back of her mind. As much time as she spent running from Booth and the memory of their relationship, she knew the day would come when Ella would want to know her father. And she knew that there was another child out there who may not be happy to find out they had a little sister. She and Booth had talked about so many things over the past few days, and she believed that Parker was every bit the wonderful child that his father had described him to be… but he was still a four year old little boy and this was going to be a shock, and a huge change to his life as he knew it.

"Not gonna happen," Booth said with confidence.

"You don't know that," she said, looking down at their hands.

"I do, Temperance," he answered, gently placing his hand under chin and encouraged her to meet his eyes. "Fate didn't bring us back together after all these years just to have our kids tear us apart."

"Fate is a ridiculous notion," she said, "ludicrous."

"Good thing I believe enough for both of us then, isn't it, Doc?"

He leaned in and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

"We're going to be all right," he told her. "One big, happy family."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling at the goofy grin on his face.

"I certainly hope you're right."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Sunday seemed to drag by for Booth. The weekends always seemed longer when he didn't have Parker, and after spending Saturday with Brennan and Ella, today was just going on forever. He'd even slept in and gone for a run before attending mass at noon.

He had done his grocery shopping and talked to Brennan on the phone while he did his laundry. Ella had apparently had the "best day ever" and couldn't wait to have a play date with Daddy again. They had decided the night before that he would stay away today, although now it was killing him to do so. Brennan felt it was best for Ella for them to spend time together in small doses, just so she didn't expect to see him every day.

Booth agreed because he didn't want to spook her, but if he had his way Ella would absolutely see him every day because he would be living with her and her mother. He knew he was still in love with the beautiful scientist, and it was he wanted nothing more than to marry her and give Ella a real family. His head knew that was something for farther down the road, but his heart was ready to jump in head first.

As much as Brennan had told him she understood why he didn't come looking for her after Parker was born and he had situated things with the Army, he knew that she was still afraid. He'd learned enough about her in those long months in the jungle to know that she had deep-seated fears about love leading to abandonment. His disappearing act had only served to reinforce that fear. She'd built up walls around her heart and he knew he had his work cut out for him in taking them down.

He had just put away the dinner dishes and sat down to see if there was a game on TV when he was surprised by a knock at the door. He got up and went over to open the door and found a familiar figure leaning against the door frame holding a bottle of his favorite whiskey.

"Hello, Big Man," she said, and that slow smile and sultry tone in her voice sent Booth's head spinning. He'd be lying if he said the sound hadn't sent a jolt of electricity straight to the boys… out of habit if nothing else.

"Cam," he said, stepping aside to let her in.

"You didn't call me," she said, walking past him and into the kitchen. She set the bottle down on the counter and reached into the cabinet for two glasses. "I'm only in town for a few more days, and I was kind of hoping we could spend a little time together."

 _Shit._

He had met Camille Saroyan about six months after Parker was born. By that time, he had given up on finding Brennan and Becs had made it perfectly clear they were done. She wasn't even interested in their friends-with benefits-situation since he knocked her up. She was convinced Parker was going to ruin her life, and she wasn't going to reward Booth for his role in bringing the boy into their lives.

His first out-of-town assignment with the Bureau sent him to New York City where he was assigned to work a case with a tough-as-nails detective from Brooklyn who was also about to finish medical school. She intrigued him from the get-go. He was still in love with his beautiful scientist from the jungle, but he was a man, after all. Brennan had pretty much ruined him for his previous "type." No longer were perky blonde cheerleaders enough to satisfy him. He wanted a woman who would challenge him, and Camille definitely fit the bill.

They stayed in touch after the case was resolved and would get together whenever they were in the other's respective cities. And "getting together" usually ended up with them in bed.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his chin as he watched her pour them each two fingers of Jamesons. "I was pretty busy with the case." _And other things._

"Well," she said, handing him a glass. "We've got some time to make up for."

"About that," he said, glancing down at his bare feet.

"Damn," she replied. "You've met someone."

He smiled. She'd always known him so well. She was probably his best friend, and he hoped that taking the physical aspect of their relationship away wouldn't change that.

"How in the hell did that happen in two weeks?" she went on.

"Remember that anthropologist you sent me to consult on the Arrington case?" he said, nodding toward the sofa for her to take a seat.

"Temperance Brennan?" she asked, shaking her head. "Really? You must be better than even I thought. I've heard she's a pretty tough nut to crack. She is brilliant, the best in the field, really. But she has a reputation for being a pretty cold fish."

"Well, it wasn't exactly the first time we'd met," he told her, filing away that bit about her reputation. He didn't feel like now was the time to defend what he knew was Brennan's warm and generous heart.

"Funny," she said. "You didn't mention that when I told you about her."

"You never told me her name," he defended.

"Oh, yes I did, Seeley. You just glazed over like you always do when someone mentions using science in police work."

It was an old argument between the two of them. Since she'd moved to the Coroner's Office, she'd been talking more and more about the benefits of using science to solve cases. If he'd told her once, he'd told her a hundred times, ' _Squints don't solve cases, cops do_.'

"Don't call me Seeley," he said with a smile… another old "argument" between them. "I really don't think you did. I would have remembered. That isn't a name one would easily forget. Especially not me… Cam, it's her."

"Her? What do you mean, _her_?"

Cam's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open as she realized what her friend was saying.

" _Her_ … you mean your grad student from El Salvador? The literal ' _one who got away_?' No way."

"Yep," he said, bringing his glass to his lips with a grin. He took a sip and waited for her to do the same before continuing. "And there's more. She had my kid."

He almost felt bad about her choking on the smooth whiskey as he leaned back into the sofa with a wide smile filling his face.

"I have a daughter, Cam," he told her. "And she's amazing. She's beautiful, and so smart… just like her mom…"

Cam sat back and watched as her friend went on to tell her about the little girl who had changed his life in a few short days. She knew that things would be changing for her as well, but she was happy for her friend. She'd always known about the torch that he carried for his jungle girl, but she was a realist and figured that he'd seen the last of her. For once, she was glad to be wrong. Booth was a great guy and he deserved the best.

"Wow," was all she could say as she let him go on to tell her about the day he'd spent with Ella and her mom. He didn't have to tell her that he was hoping for many more days just like that.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Mommy?" Ella asked as her mom got up to put the book she had just read back on the shelf.

"Yes, Ella?"

"I'm glad my daddy found us."

Brennan let out a long breath and sat back down on the edge of her daughter's bed. She reached up and pushed the little girl's hair back away from her face.

"Me too, baby," she said.

"He's funny."

Ella smiled as her mom nodded her head in agreement.

"He is," she answered, and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "But don't tell him that."

She kissed her daughter on her forehead as she stood up.

"Get some sleep, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," Ella said as her mom turned to walk out the door. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Can we see Daddy tomorrow? I missed him today."

"I don't know," she answered. "We'll see."

She closed the door and made her way to her own room. This was what she was afraid of once she introduced Ella to Booth. She knew that her daughter would want to have him around all the time. If she were being honest, she'd found herself missing him today as well.

 **AN 2 – Well? Are you happy to see this one back? Do you want to see more? I'm a little rusty, so I would LOVE to hear what you think! Hit that little review button down there and let me know.**


	9. Chapter 7

**AN - I'm overwhelmed by the response to the last chapter. Thank you so much! I'm glad there are folks out there still interested in this story. I am absolutely loving getting back into writing. I hope I'm not too rusty.** **There are at least a few more chapters in this one. Please continue to let me know what you think!**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **CH 7**

Monday morning found Booth being assigned a new case and it was a doozy that promised a mountain of paperwork. He spent the day chasing down leads and didn't even take time to stop for lunch. Dinner time came and went with a quick sandwich from the machine in the break room. By the time he got home, it was nearly ten o'clock and he was exhausted.

By habit, he dropped his keys and wallet on the table by the door and locked his gun up in his gun safe. He went to the fridge and grabbed a beer before walking back to his bedroom. He set the beer on the bedside table along with his phone and took off his jacket and tie, dropping them on the chair in the corner.

He took off his shirt and pants, and pulled on a pair of sweats.

When he went to grab his beer, he knocked his phone off the table. He reached down to pick it up and saw that it had opened to his photos. He was looking down at a photo he'd taken of Brennan and Ella at the park on Saturday, and realized how much he missed them. It had only been two days, but that was two too many.

He opened the phone to the keypad and dialed her number.

"Brennan."

"Hey, Doc."

"Hello Booth," she answered and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"I hope it's not too late," he said. They had spoken on the phone late in the evening several nights in the last week, but for some reason he found himself suddenly a little nervous.

"You know I stay up late," she said. "But Ella has already been asleep for quite a while."

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I figured."

"She misses you."

"Me, too," he answered. "Both of you."

"Booth," she chided, "it's only been two days."

"You started it," he said, smiling.

"I said Ella missed you," she corrected. "She's four. She doesn't have a well-developed sense of time."

"I guess I'm just a big kid, then," he answered. He loved the sound of her soft laughter, and loved even more that he was the cause of it.

"I'm not going to feed your ego by telling you I missed you, Booth," she said.

"It's okay," he said, teasing. "I know you did."

"I am surprised to only be hearing from you now, though."

He laughed out loud at her admission.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry. We talked a little yesterday, but I stayed away like you asked. I really meant to call earlier today, but I got a new case and it kind of kicked my ass. I just got home a few minutes ago."

"Would you like to have dinner here tomorrow?" she asked.

"Oh, Doc," he said. "I would love to, but Parker has soccer practice. You could come with me."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not," he said. "You and Ella should go with me."

"Booth, that's ridiculous. Have you told Parker about Ella yet?"

"Well, no. But…"

"No buts, Booth. We will not bounce the news on him at a soccer field. You will tell him in private, as we discussed… and when you think he's ready, then we will bring them together someplace both neutral and private

"Spring the news," he corrected. "And of course, you're right. But I really want to see you."

His voice dropped down an octave and she felt that old familiar flutter in the pit of her stomach. She found herself physically shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

"Ella," she corrected. "You want to see Ella."

"Yes," he agreed. "Of course, but I want to see you, too, Doc. Don't think I'm giving up on you."

"Let's just see how it goes with Parker first," she said. It was a very real fear of hers that the boy would not like her and she couldn't bear the thought of Booth feeling as if he had to choose between her and his son. She was a parent, and she knew who would win that battle.

"Babe, I told you, Parks is gonna be fine."

"Booth, I am neither an infant nor am I an anthropomorphic pig."

Booth laughed.

"Okay Doc, point taken."

They sat quietly for a moment.

"You need a better nickname," he said after a few minutes.

"Why?"

"Doc was great in the jungle because it singled you out among a bunch of soldiers," he said. "But now, with three doctorates behind your name and spending all your time at the lab with lots of other people with doctorates behind _their_ names kinda makes it less _special_. Don't worry," he assured her. "I'll come up with something good."

"I'm sure you will," she replied.

"So, what are we going to do about tomorrow?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I want to see you. And if you won't go to the soccer field with me, how about lunch?"

"Booth," she said, dropping her head back against the headboard. "We just talked about this. I don't have to repeat myself this much with Ella."

"You and Ella," he corrected. "I want to see you and Ella. She goes to the daycare at the Jeffersonian, right? We can pick her up and go out to the rose garden for a little picnic lunch. Come on, Doc… whatd'ya say?"

"I say you're incorrigible."

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," he replied. "I'll meet you at your office at noon."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

When Booth arrived at Brennan's office, the sight that greeted him was not the one he expected. He reached up and was just about to knock on the open doorframe when he noticed Brennan sitting on the sofa and consoling a very upset Ella.

"Hey," he said softly, setting his picnic basket down as he walked toward them. "What happened?

"She overheard the teaching assistants gossiping at the daycare," Brennan said, cradling her daughter against her chest, and rubbing the little girl's back.

"And it upset her this much?" he asked, sitting down next to them. "What am I missing?"

"They were talking about us," she said quietly. "About me."

Ella sat up and looked back at Booth, she sniffed back her tears as she said, "They said you're not my daddy."

 _How the hell do they even know about me?_

He looked at Brennan with the question in his eyes?

 _I don't know._

She answered with a shrug.

"Baby, come here," he said, reaching out for the little girl. It was hard to believe he'd only spent one day with her. Holding her felt as natural as having Parker in his arms, and she seemed just as comfortable. He held her close and stroked her back just as her mother had done as he began talking in a hushed tone. "I don't know what those ladies said," he told her. "Or what they think they know. But we know the truth, right?"

The little girl nodded her head against his chest.

"Mommy told you about me a long time ago, right?"

Another nod.

"And Mommy has never lied to you, right?"

He looked down as a pair of tear-filled bright blue eyes looked back at him.

"That's a silly question, Daddy," she said with a sniff. "Mommy always tells the truth."

"That's right, Princess," he said. "She does. And you may not know it yet, but Daddy always tells the truth, too. Now, I don't know what those teachers thought they knew, but Mommy and I both love you very much and you were born because we loved each other very much. I am your Daddy, no matter what anyone else has to say. Do you believe that?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Then, I think maybe we should try to forget about those ladies and go have a picnic. What do you say? Would you like to have a picnic with Mommy and me, Ella?"

The little girl sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm as she nodded, causing her father to laugh and her mother to cringe, just a little.

"All right," Booth said, standing up with Ella in his arms. "Mommy, if you could help with the basket," he said, "I will transport Miss Ella."

"Mommy says I'm too big to be carried, Daddy."

"Well, you are getting a little big for Mommy to carry," he answered. "But Daddy can handle you for a while yet."

"I like that," Ella said.

"Me too, Princess. Me, too."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Daddy, what does graceful mean?"

Booth and Ella were walking through the rose garden while Brennan took a phone call from a colleague.

"Why do you ask?" he responded.

"The teachers at my school. They said that Mommy prolly didn't even know who my daddy was and that it was graceful for her to let me think that you were my daddy."

The smile that graced his face at her mispronunciation of probably quickly faded as she went on.

" _Dis_ graceful," he corrected "is exactly how those ladies were behaving. Disgraceful means shameful," he said. "Do you know what that means?"

She nodded.

"I think so, like when Uncle Hodgins does something bad and Mommy tells him he should be 'shamed of himself?"

Booth laughed out loud. He could just see Brennan chastising the bug man for misbehaving in front of Ella.

"Kind of like that, Princess," he said. "Those ladies should definitely be ashamed of themselves. It's not right to talk about people when they aren't there. And it's not right to discuss things that you know nothing about. They were being disgraceful, but your Mommy never has been."

"Why did they say that?"

"I don't know, Ella," he answered honestly. Booth liked to think of himself as a stand-up guy… he hated gossip. That was probably something instilled in him by Grams so many years ago. He smiled as he thought of the first Ella in his life, and thought about how much she would have loved her namesake. He let out a long sigh before returning to the conversation. "Some people just like to talk about other people instead of focusing on what is going on in their own lives. They really just need to learn to mind their business."

"Like Mommy tells me to mind my manners?"

"Yes," he said with a chuckle. "Just like that. Your mommy is pretty smart."

"She's a genius, Daddy."

Booth couldn't resist another laugh at his daughter's earnest defense of her mother's intellect. He had to wonder how many times he had her that particular term. He remembered many times in the jungle when his soldiers were put in their places by a certain grad student on her way to receiving three doctorates at the tender age of 22. Doc always did like to remind people how smart she was.

"Yes she is, Ella. Yes, she is," he agreed, sweeping the little girl up in his arms and being treated to a fit of giggles. "Let's go see if our genius is finished with her phone call and maybe we can convince her that we need to hit the playground before our lunch break is over."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Booth let out a long breath as he walked up to the sidelines of the soccer field. He had spotted his ex, standing off by herself and talking on her phone, while another group of mothers were gathered and chatting among themselves. She hung up the phone just as he approached, and looked up just in time for him to hand her the latte he'd brought with him

"Thanks," she said. "What did you do this time?"

"Hi Becs," he answered in a voice laced with sarcasm. "Good to see you, too."

"Sorry," she replied, sighing. "It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday. I've got a big case and Drew is out of town... But, to be fair, you don't usually bring me gifts unless it's a peace offering."

She knew him well, and the thought made him smile. He and Rebecca had come a long way in the past four years. When Parker was born, Rebecca really believed that her life was ruined and she was pissed at the world. Booth had even thought about petitioning for full custody, but back then he believed that he had no parental rights and so he just sat back and took what Becca dished out for fear of not getting to see his son. Over the years, Rebecca had not only been able to finish law school and get a job at a big DC firm, she had also risen in the ranks pretty quickly. She fell in love with their son and began to see him as the blessing that he was, and things had really evened out when she met Drew. Rebecca and Drew had gotten married about the time he was dating Tessa, and it was Drew who convinced her that she shouldn't fight him on their shared custody agreement. They had even developed a pretty good friendship over the past couple of years, neither of them wanting their "stuff" to affect Parker.

"It's just a coffee, Becca."

"It's never 'just' with you, Seeley."

"Always a lawyer," he replied, shaking his head.

"Exactly," she agreed. "So I'm not going to give up this line of questioning. What's up?"

"There is something, actually."

"I knew it."

"There have been some pretty big changes in my life this last month…"

"Who is she?"

"What?" Booth shook his head trying to follow her train of thought. "Who?"

"The woman you want to introduce my son to."

"It's not like that, Becs," he said. "Well, actually it is… but…"

"Seeley, you have always been careful about who you bring around Parker. So, I'm guessing this must be serious. Plus, you don't usually mince your words with me… so, what gives?"

"There is a woman," he said. "But there is a little more… a lot more, actually… to it than that."

"Remember when I was in El Salvador right before Parker was born?"

"You mean through my whole pregnancy?" she asked. "How could I forget?"

"Unfair, Rebecca," he said, not really wanting to rehash an ages-old argument. "Not only were we NOT together, but I had no idea that you were pregnant."

"Sorry, sorry…" she replied, holding her hand up in surrender. "You're right. Go on."

"There was a girl," he said.

"A local girl?" she asked. She wasn't sure why, but she was curious.

"No," he answered. "She was an anthropologist. A grad student, actually, working with the dig team we were assigned to protect. They were identifying the remains found in a mass grave. Anyway, we fell for each other hard and fast. El Salvador was my last assignment, and I'd planned to get together with her in Chicago when we both landed stateside. We were going to leave together, but then I got the call about Parker…"

"… and you left her behind?"

"I had to," he said. "You knew I had to find out what was going on when you had them make the call. Then after Parker was born, that asshole Walter Sherman had me thrown in the brig. I never got a chance to call her…"

"Why did you never tell me this?"

"And give you another reason to hate me? No thanks," he said. "We weren't exactly getting along back then. Anyway, by the time I got out… she was gone. She thought I was making a life with you and Parker and that I wasn't coming for her."

"And you found her," she said. "Here in DC?"

Booth nodded.

"Yeah, completely by accident. The Bureau contracted her to help on the case I was working on."

"And you're rekindling that old flame? That's great, Seeley. I'm happy for you. And as long as she's good to my son, I have no problem with it."

"Thanks. But that's not all, Becs. When I left El Salvador, she was pregnant."

"And you didn't chase after her?"

"I didn't know, Rebecca. And actually, neither did she. Anyway, the thing is… I have a daughter and Parker has a little sister."

TBC

 **AN2 – So there you have it. Let me know what you think. Reviews keep me motivated to keep posting.**


	10. Chapter 8

**AN- This one plays with canon a little more than I already have… but since I've played with everyone else's backstory…** **Thank you for all the encouragement and the new favorites and follows. I'm really happy that you are enjoying this story. We've got a ways to go yet, hope you enjoy!**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **CH 8**

"It went pretty well with Rebecca, actually," Booth said into the phone, leaning back against the headboard.

"That's good," Brennan replied into her phone, seated in much the same position.

Booth could hear the slight tremor in her voice.

"It's going to be fine," he said.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true," he replied, dropping his voice to what he hoped was a calm and soothing tone. "Yes, it's big news, and a big change. But they are four years old, not fourteen. They're gonna love each other. I bet they'll even be best friends."

The moment he began speaking in that low, soft tone, she felt a warmth spread through her entire being with a tingle that settled right at her center. She had to get ahold of herself. She both loved and hated the response that this man, and only this man, could elicit from her.

"I hope you're correct."

"I _am_ right. You're gonna have to learn to start trusting me."

"I do trust you, I just don't have so much faith in your intestines as you do."

"In my _gut_ Doc, my gut. My gut instincts have served me well, and you know it."

"Whatever you say, Booth," she said, and he heard the smile in her voice. "I prefer facts, and _you_ know that."

"Just one of the things l love about you," he replied. "So, dinner tomorrow?"

"Booth, we had lunch today," she reminded him. "We agreed that it was best for Ella that we not see you every day."

"Best for Ella, Temperance? Or best for you?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Yes, you do. We may be finally in the same place geographically, but you're still running from me. Why?"

"I'm afraid," she admitted, so quietly he could barely hear.

"What was that?" he asked, gently.

"I'm afraid, okay, Booth?" she said. "Are you happy now?"

"Of course not," he replied. "Hey," he went on, dropping his voice to a more soothing tone. "Let's rewind a few minutes. I just told you that everything is going to be okay, and I truly believe that. Bren, we are meant to be. I know you've been through some shitty times. I know I hurt you when I didn't come looking for you. But you are the strongest, most amazing person I know. At 22 and all on your own, you built a life for you and Ella. Four years later, she is a bright, loving, amazing little girl and you are the most sought-after anthropologist in your field. Baby, you can do anything. And if anyone should be scared here, it's me. You are _way_ out of my league. I knew it five years ago, and it's even more obvious now."

"I'm tired, Booth," she said.

"I'll let you get some sleep," he replied.

"No," she said. "I mean, yes, it is late… but I'm just tired of running from my feelings. I'm exhausted, and I just don't want to run anymore."

"Then stop," he said. "Let me catch you. Let me hold you. Hell, let me _carry_ you for a while. You don't have to do it all on your own anymore, Temperance. I want to do it all with you."

"Let's just see how things go with Parker first," she said with a tone of resignation.

"Okay," he said. "But I know my kid. He's gonna love you. And Ella."

"I hope so," she replied. "And Booth?"

"Yeah, Doc?"

"I'm not too good for you," she said. "I don't like you putting yourself down like that. What happened to that cocky soldier who wouldn't stop until he made me swoon back in El Salvador?"

"Oh, he's still here," Booth replied with a grin. "And he can't wait to make you do a whole lot more than swoon."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Booth ended up not being able to see "his girls" on Wednesday after all. He found himself buried in paperwork with the case he'd pulled on Monday. It had been another long day of chasing down leads and lunch from the vending machine and a long night of paperwork at his desk.

By the time he got home and got a shower, had a dinner of beer and cold pizza and finished up the last of his paperwork, it was even too late to call Brennan. He decided instead to send a quick email. He knew she'd see it first thing in the morning. He hoped she'd see it before she went in to the lab. She was planning to meet with the head of the daycare and to confront the gossipy hens who had upset Ella. He would have paid good money to see that, but she convinced him she should do it on her own, and he wanted to supply his own words of support and encouragement for her.

He wanted to see Brennan and Ella, needed to see them, really. But he especially wanted to spend some time with them on Thursday night. He would have Parker for the weekend and if all went according to plan, he would talk to his son about Ella and her mom on Friday night and they would all get together on Saturday.

They had talked a lot about making sure that Parker was okay with the situation, but they hadn't reinforced the changes with Ella. She was excited about the idea of having a brother, but Booth knew that Brennan was right… she may not be as enthused with the actuality of having a brother. So, he thought it would be best that he and Brennan sit down with Ella together and make sure she understood what to expect when Parker finally came around.

He was sure everything would be all right, but he was thorough. He always made sure his t's were crossed and his i's were dotted… and Brennan was even more meticulous than he. It would make them both feel better about the whole situation if they went in with an agreed upon game plan.

And it was with those thoughts of his family that he fell into a restful sleep.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Knock, knock."

Brennan looked up from her computer to see her best friend standing in her doorway.

"Hello, Angela," she said.

"Hey, Sweetie," Angela replied. "You want to do lunch? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"That would be nice," Brennan agreed. She wasn't too busy today and she could really use some advice from her friend. She closed her locked her computer and picked up her bag.

"Indian?" Angela suggested.

"Yes," she answered. "That sounds good."

 _The scientist met the artist shortly after Ella was born. Brennan was working at Stanford and Angela was a free-living artist living in Berkeley. Brennan had taken a rare weekend away from work and gone away for the weekend. There was an exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences that a colleague had recommended, so she packed up Ella and made the drive up to San Francisco. At the exhibit, she ran into the head of the Anthropology Department at UC Berkeley and Dr. Kirsch invited her back to campus for a lecture being given by one of the professors Brennan had worked with on a dig in Guatemala during her undergrad._

 _She was pushing Ella's stroller across the quad when her attention was drawn to an artist sitting cross-legged on a blanket and drawing in a sketch pad. She stopped and watched as the young woman's pencil moved in smooth strokes across the paper. She was drawing a portrait of a man sitting on a bench across the way. It was truly an amazing likeness._

" _That's very good," she said._

" _Oh, thanks!" the artist said, turning to look at the stranger when her attention was drawn by the tiny bundle riding in her stroller. "Awwww… what a little cutie!" She stood to greet the woman behind the stroller. "I'm Angela," she said._

" _Temperance," Brennan replied. "You are very talented. Are you a student here?"_

" _No," Angela replied with a laugh. "Just a hippie artist from the Haight. I like to hang out here sometimes to draw. It's a lot more serene than my neighborhood."_

 _Something clicked between the two and Brennan was surprised at how quickly she felt comfortable with the artist. The only other person in recent memory that she had felt the same kind of ease with was Seeley Booth. She quickly shook that thought from her head. Thinking about Booth brought nothing but heartache. She was in California to make a new start… a new life for herself and Ella that did not include Booth. For her part, Angela found herself drawn to her quirky new friend and soon she was attending an anthropology lecture and soothing a fussy baby so her mother could take in the information coming from the lectern._

 _After that, the two had remained in touch. Eventually, Angela moved from Berkeley down to Palo Alto. She began taking computer science classes and helping out with Ella whenever she could. When Brennan received the offer for her position at the Jeffersonian, she arranged to bring a very accomplished forensic artist to the team as well._

Angela truly had become her best friend, and they'd been through a lot together over the years. And lunch to catch up was just what they needed. They were seated on the patio at the Indian restaurant around the corner from the Jeffersonian.

"I'm glad we could do this," Angela said, sipping on an iced chai tea. "I was afraid you might have plans with your hunk of a soldier-slash-FBI agent. I haven't seen much of you since he's been around."

"He has taken up a bit of both my work and free time," Brennan admitted. "But you can't blame our distance on only me," she added with a smile. "I think a certain entomologist may have been taking up a bit of your time, as well."

"Hodgins?" Angela replied with a wrinkled nose. "You think something is going on between me and Hodgins? What in the world would make you think that?"

"I may not be good at reading people, Ang," her friend replied. "But I know you, very well. I've seen the way you look at him."

"I'll admit, that curmudgeon thing he's got going on is kinda hot," she replied with a laugh. "But enough about me. I want to know what's going on with you and Booth."

"I honestly don't know,' Brennan told her.

"I saw you two leave with Ella at lunch time yesterday," Angela said. "She was clinging pretty tightly."

Brennan smiled.

"Only a few days, and she's already Daddy's girl," she said. "He's so protective. She needs that."

"So do you," Angela told her.

"Right now, I just want to focus on the children," she said.

"You're still running, Bren."

"I know," she answered. "But I have to be certain before we go down that road."

"He's crazy about you, Brennan," her friend told her. "I've only known him for a few weeks, but it's obvious. And it seems like he is good with Ella."

"He is, and she adores him already. Yesterday was the first time we haven't spoken since the night he found out about Ella. Was that really only a week ago? Anyway, I had an email from him when I got in this morning. He was so busy with the new case he's working on that he didn't get a chance to call. He said it was too late when he finally got home. But he stayed at the office to finish the paperwork so he wouldn't have to be late tonight. He wants to have dinner with Ella and I."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. So, what's the problem?"

"There is no problem, per se," Brennan hedged. "But Ella is getting so used to having him around already…"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, yes… "

"Brennan, you've got to stop worrying. That man is not going anywhere."

"He wants to spend time with Ella tonight before he tells his son about her tomorrow."

"And that worries you?"

"This whole thing worries me, Angela."

"Do you love him?"

"You know I do," she answered with a sigh.

"Then what's there to worry about?"

"Well, let's see… I've never had a relationship that's worked out, and apparently neither has he. We have two four year olds who may end up hating each other on sight. At the very least, they are going to compete for their father's attention…"

"Okay, Debbie Downer, maybe the reason neither of you have never succeeded in a relationship is because you're supposed to be in a relationship with each other…"

"Not you, too. Angela, there is no such thing as Fate."

Angela laughed out loud.

"No such thing as Fate? How else can you describe two beautiful strangers meeting in a faraway jungle, being ripped apart by circumstances outside of their control meeting again after five years at just the right time for everything to fall into place?"

"You make it sound like such a romantic notion," Brennan said.

"That's because it IS!" Angela exclaimed. "Sweetie, you don't know how lucky you are. You and Booth have a chance at something most of us only dream of. Don't blow it before it even starts." Before Brennan could respond, she held her hand up. "Have dinner with the man, Bren."

"I'll call him to arrange it when we get back to the office."

"That's my girl," Angela said, smiling. "This is right, Brennan. I promise, it's all going to be perfect."

"Perfection is another frivolous notion, Angela."

"I know, Sweetie," she replied, a sad smile gracing her face. "Just give it a chance."

"It's not as if I don't want to," Brennan admitted. "I just don't have the best history."

"It's probably hard to believe for someone who spends so much time recreating the past, but sometimes the past is meant to be left in the past. Forget about your history and focus on your future."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Brennan checked her watch quickly before returning to review the student paper on her desk. She had about an hour before she had to pick Ella up from daycare. She realized it would not take that long to finish grading the paper, but it would also not be enough time to start another. She resolved to pick up Ella a little early and make a stop at the market on the way home. The phone on her desk began to ring, and she reached for it without looking up from the paper she was reading.

"Brennan," she answered.

"Hey, Doc."

"Hello, Booth," she said, not unaware of the smile that immediately came to her face.

"So, what do you want to do for dinner tonight? Jumbo Slice?"

She shook her head. She'd said it many times, but he really was incorrigible.

"I don't recall agreeing to have dinner with you tonight, Agent Booth," she said, smiling.

"I don't recall taking 'no' for an answer, _Doctor_ Brennan," he replied. "Come on, Bones. I really need to see you and Ella tonight."

"Bones?"

"Yeah," he answered, his grin growing larger. "That's your specialty… get it? Nobody knows more about bones than you. I told you you needed a better nickname. You like it?"

"Would it matter if I said I didn't?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "So, wanna grab a pizza? I can meet you there around six…"

"No, Booth," she said.

"Bren," he pleaded, his tone earnest. "Don't make me beg."

"That might be fun," she replied. "I just meant 'No, I don't want to go for pizza.' Yes, Ella loves the pizza at Jumbo Slice, but I'd like to keep it a treat. Twice in one week is not a good idea. I was actually planning to call and invite you to join us for dinner at home. I'll cook."

"Wow," he replied. "A home cooked meal, huh? That sounds great. I didn't know you could cook."

"Well," she said. "I've had to take care of myself for a very long time, you know. And I also have to feed your daughter."

He laughed out loud. He was constantly finding himself surprised at how much she'd grown 'socially' over the past five years. He suspected Angela probably had something to do with that.

"Point taken," he said. "So, what time should I be there? I'll bring dessert."

"What did you say? Six-thirty? That would be fine," she answered. "We'll probably eat around seven."

"Perfect," he said. "See you then."

"Goodbye, Booth."

"Later, Bones."

TBC

 **AN2 – Please take a minute to leave a review. They are fuel for the muse and keep me writing.**


	11. Chapter 9

**AN – I know the pace of this story seems a little slow. I'm intentionally keeping the chapters short so we can have regular updates. I know there are some of you that are ready for the Parker/Ella meeting. Be patient with me, please.** **One last chapter before that happens.**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **CH 9**

"Mommy, what does Daddy's car look like?"

Brennan laughed and shook her head, and looked back over her shoulder.

"Ella, come away from the window, honey. Daddy won't be here for another fifteen minutes or so."

"But I want to see when he's coming," Ella answered. "So when he gets to the door, I can open it. I'll know it's him then 'cuz I can't reach the looking hole."

"That's very clever of you, sweetheart. But how I check the aperture in the door, and then you can open it."

Ella apparently decided that was an acceptable compromise and she climbed up onto a counter stool to watch her mother cook.

"Does Daddy like 'asanga?"

"Lasagna, Ella," her mother corrected, and again made the 'L' sound. "And I'm not certain, actually. But I know that his grandmother was Italian and he loved her cooking. I thought this would be something that he might enjoy. And I already know that you like it."

"I do," the little girl said, nodding. "And do we get garlic knots, too?"

"Of course," Brennan answered with a smile. "And a salad, of course."

"How much more time 'til Daddy gets here?"

"A little while. Why don't you go in your room and read a book? By the time you've finished, it should be time for Daddy to get here."

"Okay, Mommy!"

Brennan watched her little girl scamper off down the hall as she reached down to put the lasagna in the oven. She wiped her hands on her apron before taking it off and heading to her room to change clothes.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"He's here!" Ella exclaimed as she came running down the hall.

"Wait," her mother called out behind her, laughing.

"Look, Mommy! Look in the hole so I can open the door!"

Brennan made her way in front of the bouncing little girl to look through the peephole, where she saw a laughing Seeley Booth holding a paper bag. She unlatched the door and stepped back to allow Ella to open it.

"Daddy!" Ella shouted as she threw herself into his arms.

"Well hello, Princess," he said, pulling her into a hug as Brennan reached to take the bag from him.

"Cherry pie," he said. "I picked it up at the Royal Diner. It's the best in town."

Brennan wrinkled her nose, as Booth looked over Ella's shoulder.

"You don't like it?" he asked.

"I don't like my fruit cooked," Brennan answered.

"What's cherry pie, Daddy?" Ella asked, leaning back to look in his eyes.

"Are you kidding me right now?" he asked, turning to Brennan. "She doesn't know what cherry pie is?"

Brennan just shrugged and smiled, turning for Booth to follow her into the living room.

"It's a yummy dessert, Princess," he said, tickling her tummy. "You are going to love it."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Brennan said as the three sat down on the sofa, and Ella made herself comfy on her daddy's lap.

"Come on, Bones. She's my kid, too. You might be surprised."

Both adults turned their attention to Ella as she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny, Ella-girl?" her daddy asked, giving her a little tickle to make her giggle even harder.

"You just called Mommy 'Bones,' Daddy," she said. "That's funny! Why did you call her that?"

"Everybody needs a nickname, Princess," he told her. "And since Mommy works with bones, I just thought Bones was a good name for her."

"I think it's silly," Ella responded.

"As do I, Ella," her mother said, jumping in to the conversation. "But you will soon learn that it does no good to argue with your father when he is amusing himself."

"Oh, come on Bones," he said. "You know you like it."

Her answer was a simple smile. She'd never tell him, but she did like it. She liked that he wanted her to have a name that was hers alone, and that he alone would call her. Against her better judgement, she began to find herself looking toward that future Booth and Angela had been nudging her toward.

"What's for dinner?" Booth asked, changing the subject. "It smells great."

"Lasagna," Brennan answered. "It's probably not as good as your grandmother's, but I hope you like it."

"Wow, Bones," he said. "You remembered."

"I remember everything about you, Booth," she answered.

"I'm touched," he said.

"Don't be," she replied and he caught the twinkle in her eye. "Eidetic memory. I remember everything."

"When did you become such a smartass?"

"Don't say 'ass' Daddy," Ella said. "That's a bad word."

"You are right, Princess," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ella said.

"Ella," Brennan said. "Why don't you go get the picture you made in school today and show it to Daddy?"

"Okay," she replied and her parents watched as she ran down the hall toward her room.

"No running, Ella," her mother reminded.

"Yes, ma'am," the little girl said as she slowed to a scamper.

Booth couldn't help the goofy grin on his face as he watched her run off.

"Speaking of school," he said. "How did it go at the daycare this morning?"

Brennan sighed as she stood and walked toward the kitchen.

"Would you like a glass of wine?" she asked.

"That good, huh?" he replied, following her. "Yeah, sure. I'd love one."

Brennan poured two glasses from the opened bottle on the counter. She handed one to Booth and took a sip from hers. Leaning against the island, she began to tell him what had happened that morning.

"When we arrived at the Jeffersonian," she said. "Ella started to cry. She said she didn't want to go to school today. I promised her that those ladies wouldn't misbehave again and that it would be all right. I reminded her that she would get to see her friend Savannah and that today was Art Day. She loves to draw… probably from spending so much time with Angela… Anyway, once I convinced her it would be all right, we went in. I asked to speak to the director, and I explained to her what had happened. And while it's none of their business, I did explain to Dr. Clemans that you are indeed Ella's father and that you will be picking her up and dropping her off from time to time."

He loved the way it was so matter-of-fact with Brennan that he had a place in Ella's life. A father's place. He knew that it would be different than with Becca, and not just because he intended to have a relationship with Brennan, but because she knew what it was like to not have parents, and she would never want her daughter to experience that. He also knew that Brennan had an amazing heart and that she would never use their daughter as a pawn in any disagreement with him. Things had come a long way with Rebecca, and he knew that those were things he didn't have to worry about with her anymore, either.

"Thanks for that," he said, taking a sip of his wine. "What did she say about the teaching assistants?"

"Well," Brennan replied. "I'm not very good at reading people, but I think she was as appalled as we were. She said that they would be reprimanded and that they would have no contact with Ella. That is what I was most concerned about. As long as she didn't have to see them, Ella would be fine. She's a very resilient child…"

"Just like her mother," he said, crossing the few steps across the kitchen until he was standing in front of her. "I really want to kiss you right now," he said, leaning in to do just that.

"I found it!" Ella shouted as she came running in to the kitchen, causing both of her parents to smile and sigh at their missed opportunity.

"Next time," Brennan said. "Don't waste time announcing your intentions."

This caused Booth to laugh out loud as he reached down to pick Ella up and sit her on the counter

"Let's see that picture, Princess," he said.

She held up a picture with a pretty good likeness of four people, two tall and two small. He had expected a more rudimentary drawing, but supposed Brennan was right about the time she'd spent with Angela.

"It's our family," Ella said, proudly. "You and Mommy, and me and my brother."

"Parker," he said. "Your brother's name is Parker."

"Park-ah," Ella repeated.

"Park-er," Brennan corrected.

"Park-err," Ella again repeated.

"That's it," said her mother, proudly.

"That's a pretty good drawing, Princess," Booth said. "And a very good likeness of you and Mommy and me. But Parker has blond hair, and it's curly."

"Really?" the little girl asked.

"Yep," her daddy replied.

"But you have brown hair," she said. "And Mommy has brown hair… and I have brown hair."

"That's true," he said. "But Parker's mommy has blonde hair. I guess he gets it from her."

"Oh," Ella replied.

"Remember when we talked about hereditary traits?" her mother asked.

"Oh yeah," Ella said. "Like my blue eyes!"

Brennan nodded and Ella turned back to Booth.

"When I was little, Mommy told me that my daddy had brown eyes, but my eyes were blue. Like hers. She said I 'herited them from her. So Parker 'herited his blond hair from his mommy."

"That's right, Princess," Booth said. "And he has brown eyes, like me. You are so smart!"

"When is Parker coming over to play with me?"

"That is very good question, Ella-bug," her daddy said. "Mommy and I have to figure that out, but I think it will be very soon."

"Okay," Ella answered. "Can you get me down, Daddy? I want to go play with my Rapunzel Barbie."

"Up you get," he said, picking her up off the counter and setting her on her feet.

Both her parents watched as she ran off to her bedroom.

"She loves that silly doll," Brennan said. "It was apparently one of the most popular toys last Christmas. It took several phone calls and a trip to Virginia before I found one."

"You're a good mom," he said, leaning in for the kiss that Ella had interrupted before.

"Thank you," she said, turning to check the timer on the oven. "The lasagna will be ready soon. Would you mind getting the salad from the refrigerator?"

"Sure," he answered and turned to the appliance behind him to comply with her request.

"So," she said. "What _is_ your plan with Parker?"

"I'll have him this weekend," he said. "I figure I'll talk to him tomorrow night and bring him over here on Saturday."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" she asked.

"Maybe we should meet at the park or Jumbo Slice or somewhere more neutral than one of their homes…"

"Bones," he said, taking her hands in his. "It's going to be all right. It might be a little awkward at first, but I think it would be easier to be at home that out in public, don't you? And what happened to not going out for pizza twice in the same week?" He smiled, and leaned in to place a soft kiss against her lips.

"Don't make fun of me," she said.

"Never."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"That was great, Bones," he said, the name continuing to roll of his tongue as if he'd been calling her that for years. "Every bit as good as Grams'. You'll have to make it for Pops someday."

Brennan's eyes grew wide and she let out a long sigh. She hadn't even considered the thought of meeting Booth's beloved grandfather.

"Let's just work on introducing the children, first," she said.

"First things first," he agreed. "Now, who's ready for pie?"

He got up and walked over to the take the pie out of the oven. After they'd taken out the lasagna and bread, Booth suggested leaving the pie in the arm oven. Brennan had then set out a knife and two plates and forks.

"Me!" Ella exclaimed, raising her hand.

"Coming right up, Princess," he replied, cutting a small slice for her and a larger one for himself.

"You sure you don't want any, Bones?"

"I'm sure," she said with a shudder. "But I do have some lemon gelato in the freezer. I think perhaps I'll have a little of that," she said as she began to get up.

"Sit," Booth said, placing on hand on her shoulder as he sat a plate down in front of Ella. "Let me get it."

"Hurry up, Daddy," Ella said. "I'm going to wait for you."

"Okay Ella-Belle," he said. "I'll just be a minute."

He made quick work of locating the bowls, spoons and ice cream scoop. Once he'd prepared Brennan's dessert and cut a slice of pie for himself, he put the gelato away and carried their dishes to the table.

"Dig in, girls," he said, and both adults watched, with no little amount of trepidation, as Ella dug in to her very first piece of cherry pie.

She made an odd face at first, and Brennan smiled as Ella was trying to decide if she liked the way the cooked cherries felt in her mouth. Ella's face curved into a huge smile, and it was the first time Brennan realized that Ella possessed her father's famous charming smile. She had noticed it before, but to see them sitting side by side, wearing matching smiles, took her breath away for just a moment.

"Yummy!" she exclaimed. "This is good, Daddy. I love cherry pie."

"That's my girl," he said with a smile, taking a bite of his own. "It's my favorite," he told her, around a mouthful of cooked cherries.

"Booth," Brennan chided, "don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry Bones" he said. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to try it. You might like it."

"I'm quite sure, Booth. I've already told you that I don't like my fruit cooked."

"Actually," he said, "It was our little Ella-doodle who told me…"

"Yes," Brennan agreed. "I suppose it was."

"Mommy," Ella said. "Daddy is right, it's really good. You should try some."

"Yeah, Mommy," Booth agreed with a smile. "You should try some." He reached over and offered her a bite from his fork.

"No, thank you," she said, declining. "Please, Booth. Let it go. I said I don't like it."

"Okay," Booth answered, backing off as he began to sense there might be more to the story than a distaste for cooked fruit. He turned the attention back to their little girl. "Looks like Ella's almost finished."

"I am," she replied, polishing off the last bite. "May I be 'scused?"

"Yes," her mother answered. "Go and get ready for your bath. I'll be in in a few minutes."

"Okay, Mommy," Ella said and took off for her room.

"I'll take care of the dishes while you get her ready for bed," Booth offered.

"But you don't know where I keep everything," she replied.

"Special agent," he said. "Remember? I think I can figure it out."

"Thank you, she replied. "Then maybe later, we can talk about why you seem to be having such a hard time coming up with a nickname for Ella."

"What?"

"Ella-bug, Ella-belle, Ella-doodle… seems like you've been trying them on all night."

"Huh," he said. "I guess I have. I hadn't even noticed."

"For what it's worth," Brennan supplied, "I think she's pretty partial to 'Princess'."

TBC

 **AN2 – You know what to do… push that little button and leave a review. It means more than you realize.**


	12. Chapter 10

**AN- Here we go… this chapter has been a long time in coming and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **CH 10**

"Daddy!"

Booth had barely climbed out of the driver's seat before he was tackled around the knees by a ball of energy and blond curls.

"Hey, Park-o!"

He reached down and swept the little boy up in his arms.

"Can we go to Chuck E. Cheese, Daddy?"

"I don't think so, buddy. Not this time," Booth told him. "But it will be a fun weekend, I promise."

"Okay, Daddy," he said as Booth set him down on his fee.

"Where's Mom, Parks?"

"She's inside," he said. "She's making dinner, I think."

"Let's go get your stuff," Booth said, "and get out of Mommy's hair."

Booth followed his son into the house where Parker's weekend bag was packed and waiting by the door.

"Hey, Seeley," Rebecca called from the kitchen.

"Hi, Becs," Booth said as he stepped into the kitchen doorway.

"His stuff is all ready," she said. "When are you bringing him back?"

"Sunday night," he answered. "Just like always."

"Parks," Rebecca said, "go upstairs and make sure you got Phillie. You know you won't sleep without him."

"Thanks, Mom!" Parker shouted as he took off for the stairs.

"Are you going to tell him?" Rebecca said, her apprehension not well-hidden in her voice.

"Yeah," Booth answered, nodding. "The plan is to talk to him tonight and take him over to Bones' place tomorrow. They've got a great park right outside her building if we need to get out and blow off a little steam."

"Bones?"

He smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "She's a forensic anthropologist and she specializes in bones. In fact, she's the world's foremost expert on bones. I think it fits."

Rebecca shook her head.

"You and your nicknames," she said. "Anyway, I think it will be all right. Parker is a resilient kid, and he makes friends easily. It might take him a while to get used to having to share you… so make sure you give him that space, okay? Of course, it make take a while before he realizes that is what is going to happen… "

"Becs," he said, trying to get her attention. "It's going to be all right."

"Just take care of him, Seeley."

"Always. You know that."

He hugged her before turning towards the front door to corral their son.

"Park-o, let's go!"

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Dad, you wanna play Mario?"

"Sure, Bub," Booth answered. "We can play, but come sit with me for a minute. There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay," Parker said, and climbed up in his dad's lap.

"So, you remember when Mom and Drew got married and we told you about different kinds of families… and how some kids get to have more grownups to take care of them besides just their moms and dads?"

"Yeah, like how Drew is my stepdad now. You are my Daddy, but I get to have Drew help Mommy take care of me and do cool stuff with, too."

"Right," Booth said, letting out a long breath. This was harder than he thought it would be. "Well, Daddy has some special people in his life who already love you and can't wait to meet you, too."

"You mean your new girlfriend?" Parker asked. "I heard Mommy talking to Drew after soccer practice the other day. She said you had a girlfriend."

"It's kind of complicated, Parks. But yeah, I guess I do. Hold on a minute."

Booth leaned back to take his phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open and moved through until he came to the pictures.

"A long time ago," he began. "Right before you were born, I met a girl…" he paused, thinking back to that first day in El Salvador. She was so beautiful, but such a pain in the ass. Smiling, he shook his head and went on. "We fell in love with each other. But because of some stuff that happened, we were separated and we lost contact with each other. What I didn't know when I lost her was that she was going to have a baby…"

He looked down to see that Parker was listening with rapt attention.

"... a few weeks ago, I found her again. And that baby is a little girl just a little bit younger than you."

He opened the phone to show him the picture of Brennan and Ella.

"This is Ella, Parks. She's your little sister."

"My sister?" Parker asked, his eyes growing wide.

"Yep," his father answered, blowing out the long breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Parker said. "Can't I have a brother instead?"

Booth laughed and ruffled his son's blond curls.

"It doesn't really work that way, Bub," he said. "Ella is already here, she's four years old and she's a girl."

"She's four?" Parker asked, astonished. " _I'm_ four! Does she like Mario?"

"I don't know, Buddy. Probably not. I bet she doesn't even know about Mario. But I bet she would love it if we taught her."

"We could do that, Dad," the little boy said. "We are the _best_ at Mario."

Parker stopped and looked at the picture again.

"Is that her mommy?"

"Yep," Booth answered, nodding.

"She's pretty."

"Yes," Booth agreed. "She sure is."

"And she's your girlfriend?"

"Not exactly, Parks. But I'm working on it."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

After tucking Parker in for the night, Booth made his way back to his trusty recliner and flipped the TV channel to ESPN. A little recapping of the day in sports was always a good way to unwind and get ready for bed. He already had a feeling he'd be too keyed up to get much sleep tonight and at the same time, if ever there was a day that he'd need to face well-rested, tomorrow was the day.

The discussion with Parker wasn't exactly a discussion, he thought with a smile. It's hard to have a man-to-man with a four-year-old, but the upshot was that Parker was excited about having a sister and he was looking forward to meeting her. He couldn't decide if he wanted to ask Rebecca about her conversation with Drew about him and Bones. It really left an impression on Parker. He seemed to be more curious about Brennan than he was about Ella.

He picked up the phone to call Brennan and decided to wait just a little longer to make sure that Ella had gone to bed. He walked through the apartment, picking up after Hurricane Parker. He usually made his son pick up after himself before bedtime, but after a rousing game of MarioKart and a couple of sessions of closet door basketball, the little guy fell asleep in his Dad's lap before even finishing one episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. Booth picked up Parker's shoes and toys, he packed up the game controllers and packed the Nintendo away. When everything was put in its place, he went and grabbed a bottle of water before going back to the living room to make his phone call. He smiled as she picked up on the first ring.

"Brennan."

"Wow, Bones. Were you sitting on it?"

"What? Booth, I don't know what that means."

Booth laughed.

"I just meant that you picked up the phone so quickly, you must have been sitting right next to it."

"Oh," she said. 'Yes, I was, actually. I was hoping that you'd call."

"How was your evening?"

"It was nice," she replied. "We stopped at the bookstore on the way home. Ella earned a new book for her good behavior at day care all week. And then after dinner, we read together for a little while. But I'm more interested in how your evening went."

Booth smiled at that. He was surprised she hadn't gone straight into that.

"It was pretty good," he said. "I mean, it's hard to have a deep conversation with a hyperactive four year old, but we did okay."

"And what does he think about having a sister?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course," she said, bracing herself for what was apparently going to be bad news.

"He'd rather have a brother," he said, smiling. "He's a boy, Bones. When I told him that we don't get to pick and that he already has a sister, he was okay with it. He's excited to teach her about video games. But to tell the truth, he was more interested in you."

"In me?" she asked, clearly surprised by this turn in the conversation.

"Yeah," he told her. "He wanted to know if you were my girlfriend."

Despite herself, Brennan found herself smiling at the thought.

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth," he answered.

"And what truth is that?"

"That I'm working on it."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

The Booth boys stood outside the door, waiting to be greeted by the Brennan girls. Surprising himself, Booth wasn't nervous. This day was a long time in coming, but it needed to be done and once they got this meeting behind them, they could all move together as a family.

"Ready, Parks?" he said, looking down at his little man.

"Yep!" Parker said, holding his package tightly.

"Okay," Booth replied. "Let's do this."

He reached up to knock and heard a happy squeal coming from the other side of the door.

"Sounds like Ella is excited," he said, laughing.

The door opened and Brennan opened her mouth to invite them in just as Ella tore past her and pulled Parker into a big bear hug. Parker grimaced and both adults laughed at the perfect moment to break the ice.

"Hey, Ella-bug," Booth said, reaching down to pick her up. "That was really nice of you, but how about if we come inside and then we can all get to visit?"

"Okay, Daddy," she said.

Two pairs of grown-up eyes automatically went to Parker, but he didn't seem to have a reaction. Booth shuffled everyone into the apartment and out of the hallway. Brennan closed the door behind them and sat down on the sofa. She guided Ella to stand next to her and waited for Booth to make introductions.

Booth knelt down between the children.

"Ella," he said. "This is Parker. Parker, this is Ella."

"You're my brother!" Ella said.

Parker wasn't quite as enthusiastic. He glanced warily toward his father and Booth gave him a slight nod, telling him it was okay.

"Hi, Ella," Parker said. "I bringed you this." He handed Ella the package he'd been clutching to his chest.

"A present?" Ella asked, glancing to her mother.

Brennan gave Booth a look that clearly said she was upset he hadn't told her they were bringing a gift. She was not happy that she and Ella had no gift for Parker.

"Kind of," Booth said. "It's really just something for us all to do today. You want to open it, Princess?"

"Can I Mommy?"

Brennan nodded.

Ella tore the paper back to find a DVD.

"It's _Finding Nemo_!" Parker exclaimed. "Did you see it yet? It just camed out on DVD, but Daddy took me to the movies to see it before. I like it a lot."

"Me, too!" Ella said. "I went to the movies with Auntie Ang'la to see it, too."

"Thank you, Parker," Brennan said, finally finding her voice. "That was very nice of you. We can definitely watch it together later."

"It was Daddy's idea," Parker said, looking down at his shoes. Booth laughed to himself at his son's sudden shyness. It was obvious that Parker had just realized he was talking to the pretty lady in the picture. Nothing embarrassed him more than being in the presence of a pretty girl.

"Parks," Booth said, his hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is Bones, she's Ella's mommy."

"Bones?" Parker asked. "That's a funny name."

"Yes, Parker, it is," Brennan said. "But your Daddy likes to give people nicknames. My name is Temperance. You can call me Tempe if you would like."

"Does Daddy call you Bones?"

Brennan rolled her eyes before shooting Booth a rueful glance.

"Yes, he does," she answered.

"Then I will, too," the boy said confidently, earning a chuckle from his father.

"Hey Parker," Ella said. "Wanna see my microscope?"

"What's a mikerscope?" Parker asked.

"Come on," Ella said, taking the boy by his hand. "I'll show you."

The adults watched as the children ran off to play together in Ella's room. Brennan started to follow them, but Booth grabbed her hand and held her back.

"Give them a minute," he said. "They'll be okay. We can check on them in a few minutes." He let go of her hand and reached up to touch her cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she said, glancing down the hallway.

He used the hand against her cheek to guide her to look in his eyes.

"I told you," he said. "They are going to love each other." He leaned in to kiss her and just as their lips were about to touch, they were startled by the sound of a high-pitched scream from the bedroom. Booth ruefully shook his head as they took off down the hall.

"What is going on in here?" Booth asked.

Parker and Ella both turned at the sound of their father's voice.

"Ella showed me her mikerscope," Parker said. "I just wanted to look."

"What happened?" Booth asked.

"Parker was gonna touch the slide," Ella said, as calm as if nothing had happened.

Brennan let out a long sigh of relief.

"But Ella yelled at me before I could see it," Parker said.

Booth turned back to Brennan.

"What am I missing here?" he said.

"Hodgins got Ella the microscope for her birthday," Brennan answered. "He has been teaching her how to handle the slides without contaminating the specimen."

"If Parker touched it, Daddy, he'd 'taminate it," Ella said. "I just wanted stop him 'fore he did." Her eyes filled with big crocodile tears. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

"Oh, baby girl," he replied, picking her up and ruffling Parker's hair at the same time. "It's okay, don't cry. Just try to maybe find a better way to get his attention next time, okay? Let's try to save screams like that for when you're hurt…"

"I think we probably need to talk about better ways to communicate," Brennan said to her daughter. "We will talk about that later." She reached up to place a quick kiss on her daughter's cheek. "And please make sure that you share your toys with your brother."

"Okay, Mommy," Ella said as her daddy set her down on her feet. "Sorry, Parker."

"It's okay," Parker said. "You want to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys I brought with me?"

"Your bag is in the living room, Parks," Booth said. "I'll go get it."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

The rest of the afternoon went without incident, save a few petty squabbles over sharing toys that happen any time that you get little children together. The little family took a walk down to the park and spent some time running around the playground.

The late afternoon found both children ready for a nap, and Ella was asleep in her room and Parker in the guest room. Their parents found themselves cuddled together on the sofa.

"This is going better than I had hoped," Brennan said, leaning back against Booth's chest

"We're sitting under a lucky star, Bones," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist and dropping a kiss in her hair. "Not only are things going well, but I can't remember the last time I was able to get Parker down for a nap on a Saturday afternoon."

Brennan nodded and smiled.

"Ella only naps when she's overly tired," she agreed. "She hasn't taken a nap regularly in about a year."

"I'm telling you," he said. "We are on our way. The kids are getting along great, and now it's time to focus on getting our relationship back on track."

"Booth…"

"I mean it, Bones. We love each other, neither one of us disputes that. The kids aren't always going to get along, they're siblings and kids fight. That doesn't mean that we can't be together."

"No, I guess it doesn't," she agreed. A smile spread across her face as she began to realize that it might just be time to start letting her walls down. 

TBC

 **AN- Well… I hope it didn't disappoint. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. The more you tell me, the more I know where I want to go with the rest of the story.**


	13. Chapter 11

**AN- Sorry for the delay in posting… this chapter got left behind in my work computer, and I was afraid I'd lost it. But it was recovered, and here it is. Just a little bit more blending and family fluff. I hope you enjoy.**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **Ch 11**

Booth and Brennan stood side by side in her kitchen, working together to get dinner ready. They were working in companionable silence, both having similar thoughts about the domesticity of it all, when the silence was broken by the soft sounds of sobbing coming from down the hall. Both parents instinctively dropped what they were doing and headed toward the sound.

"It's Parker," Booth said, and Brennan nodded, letting him go ahead.

She stayed back while Booth made his way to the guest room where his son was napping. He opened the door slowly and walked over to the bed. Parker was lying on his side, facing away from the door. His father sat down on the edge of the bed and gently touched his shoulder.

"Hey Bub," he said quietly. "What's going on? Did you have a bad dream?"

Parker sniffed as he nodded and turned toward his daddy.

"Uh-huh," he said, sitting up and allowing Booth to take him in his arms.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Are you still gonna be my daddy?" the little boy asked, again sniffing back his tears.

"Oh, Parks," Booth said, holding the boy close. "Of course I'm gonna be your daddy. I'm always gonna be your daddy… even when you're all grown up."

"But you're Ella's daddy now."

"Yes," Booth answered, nodding. "I am Ella's daddy. But that doesn't mean I'm not your daddy, too." He let out a long sigh. He sensed Brennan standing near the door, but he didn't turn to acknowledge her. "Hey, listen. You know your friend Nolan?"

Parker nodded.

"How many sisters does he have?"

Parker thought for a minute, and counted with his fingers.

"Three," he answered.

"And they all have the same daddy, right?"

Again, Parker nodded.

"Daddies can have lots of kids," Booth told him. "But that doesn't change how we love any of them. I'm really happy that we have Ella to love now, but that doesn't mean I love you any less. I love you both the same and that's a whole lot…"

"To the moon and back?" Parker asked.

"To infinity and beyond," his father replied, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of his head. "You feel better?"

"Yeah," the little boy answered, calm.

"Think we should invite Bones in?" Booth said with a grin, looking back over his shoulder to find Brennan watching intently from the doorway.

Parker peeked over his father's shoulder and nodded as a shy smile spread across his face.

Brennan glanced at Booth, clearly unsure of how to proceed. He nodded and she walked over to the bed. She sat down next to Booth.

"Hi, Bones," Parker said quietly.

"Hi, Parker," she replied. "I'm sorry you had a bad dream, Parker," she said. "When Ella has one, she likes a nice cup of hot cocoa. I thought you might like it, too. Would you like some?"

"How did she know, Daddy?"

"I don't know, Parks," Booth replied, looking over at Brennan.

"What?" she asked.

"I always make hot chocolate for Parker after a nightmare," Booth told her. "Pops' recipe."

"Well, I don't know if I can live up to your grandfather's recipe," Brennan said, "but Ella likes it."

"I'm sure it's great, Bones. Whatdy'a say, Bub? Wanna go give it a try?"

Parker nodded and started to climb out of the bed.

"I'll go check on Ella," Brennan said, following the Booth boys out of the room. "Booth, the cups are already out on the counter."

The Booth boys headed to the kitchen and Booth poured a cup of the sweet confection for Parker

"Bones is nice," Parker said.

"She is," his father agreed. "I think that we are pretty lucky to have her and Ella as part of our family."

"Yeah," Parker agreed. "Dad?"

"Yeah, Parks?"

"Do you think Bones has any marshmallows?"

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Dinner was a raucous affair, two adults trying to convince two four year olds to eat. Parker fought the idea of eating a salad and Ella was not at all sure about chicken nuggets.

"Really?" Booth asked a smiling Brennan as they worked together to wash the dishes. "What four year old doesn't eat chicken nuggets?"

"She's never had them. I told you, Booth," Brennan replied. "Ella doesn't eat processed foods. We occasionally go out for pizza, but I try to cook whole foods for her at home."

Booth just shook his head. He was sure that Brennan and their daughter would continually surprise him.

"Mommy!" Ella called from the living room. "Can we watch Nemo now?"

"In just a few minutes, Ella," Brennan answered. "As soon as we get the dishes put away."

"Why don't you two go back and make sure all the toys are picked up in Ella's room?" Booth suggested.

"Okay, Daddy," Ella said, running off to her room.

"You too, Parker," Booth said.

"But Daddy, they're not my toys," Parker said.

"Did you play with them?" his father asked.

"Yes," Parker answered.

"Then get your butt in there and help. Now."

"Yes, sir," Parker answered, with just the slightest bit of pout.

"Never a dull moment, Bones," Booth said. "Never a dull moment."

"I'm beginning to see that," she replied. She took the pan that Booth had just finished washing, dried it and put it away. "That's the last of them."

"Let's go face our little monsters," Booth replied with a laugh. "I don't know about you, but I think it would be a good idea to get them into their pajamas and settled in for the night before we put on the movie."

Brennan looked startled.

"Were you planning to spend the night?" she asked.

Booth laughed.

"No, Bones," he said. "Don't worry. First, I would never be that presumptuous. And second, I know we're not ready for that step just yet. Parker never makes it all the way through a movie in the evening. I brought his PJs so I can get him ready for bed before the movie. That way when it's time to go home and he is undoubtedly asleep, I can just carry him in and put him straight to bed."

"Oh," came Brennan's short reply. "That is quite logical. And I would venture to say that Ella will be asleep before the movie is over, as well."

"Well, let's go get 'em rounded up and ready for bed."

"I'll get Ella," she said. "You can use the guest room to get Parker ready. Did you bring a toothbrush?"

"No," he said. "I didn't think about it. I thought I was doing pretty good to remember his PJs."

"We have an extra," she answered. "I'll leave it out on the counter with Ella's toothpaste."

"Thanks, Bones."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Brennan piled some pillows and blankets on the floor and they settled in with the kids in between them.

"Hey!" Ella exclaimed. "That's my blankie." She reached to snatch back the blanket that Parker was snuggled under.

"Ella!" her mother chastised. "You must learn to share. Especially with your brother."

"But that's my favorite," Ella pouted.

"Ella."

"But, Mommy…"

"No, Ella. Now, if you can't share with Parker then you can go to bed and Daddy, Parker and I will watch the movie."

"No!" Ella cried.

"Then you know what you need to do," Brennan told her daughter.

Ella handed the blanket back to Parker.

"Here, Parker," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Parker said. "Thank you for letting me use your blankie. When you come to our house, I'll let you borrow mine."

"That is very sweet of you, Parker," Brennan replied.

"Let's get this show on the road," Booth said, reaching out to aim the remote control at the TV."

Both kids laughed and cheered.

"I love Dory," Ella said. "Who's your fav'rite charc'ter, Parker?"

"Nemo!" the little boy exclaimed.

Booth flipped on the movie and everyone settled in to watch.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Sunday found Booth and Parker attending mass while Brennan and Ella had brunch with Angela.

"Auntie Ang'la," Ella said, after taking a sip of her juice. "Did you know that I have a daddy now? And a brother, too?"

"You've always had a daddy, Ella," her mother said.

"But Parker is new," Ella said, matter of fact.

"Actually," Brennan said. "Parker is six months older than you are, so he's always been there, too."

"Mommy!" Ella said. "I just meeted Parker yesterday."

"You sure did, Ella," Angela said. "And I can't wait to hear all about it. Tell me all about Parker, and your daddy."

"Angela," Brennan said, her tone full of warning.

"What?" Angela asked. "I'm just catching up with my niece. She's had a pretty big week."

"My daddy is nice," Ella said. "And Parker bringed his Ninja Turtles to play with me…"

"He _brought_ his toys, Ella," her mother corrected.

"That's what I said," Ella replied. "And I let him use my Dora blankie."

"That's really nice of you, Sweetie."

"Mommy made me."

Angela laughed out loud.

"It's hard to remember to share when you're not used to doing it," Angela said. "I was an only child, too."

"I'm not a only child, Auntie Ang'la. I have a brother, remember?"

Brennan laughed. Angela brought it on herself. It was her best friend whom Ella had learned sarcasm. Of course, now that her father was around, it was likely she'd be hearing a lot more.

"Eat your breakfast, Ella," she told her daughter.

"So, _Mommy_ ," Angela said. "I'm very interested in hearing what you think about spending so much time with Daddy."

"It's been nice, Angela," Brennan said.

"Just nice?"

"Yes," Brennan answered. "Just nice. Getting the children together was the first step…"

"And that went well," Angela offered.

"Yes, it did," Brennan agreed. "But it was just one day. It will take quite some time before we know how well it's going to work."

"Bren, it's already done. The kids know each other. They know they are siblings… there's no turning back now. And you don't want to turn back anyway."

"No," Brennan admitted. "I don't"

"Look Bren," Angela said sincerely. "I know you're scared. I know how tough it was to do everything by yourself when Ella was a baby… I was there. But you don't have to be alone anymore. You've got a gorgeous man who is obviously in love with you, from what I can tell he's a doting dad… and he's all, 'truth, justice and the American way'… he's the total package, sweetie." She paused to take a sip of her latte. "And did I mention he's hot? Seriously, if I didn't already know he was yours… I'd buy a ticket for that ride."

"I don't own him, Angela."

"Oh yes, you do Bren," her friend replied. "You just don't know it, yet."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

After church, Booth and Parker ran through McDonalds for lunch. He wasn't sure either of them could go a whole weekend without fast food, but he was sure that Brennan would not allow it when they were with her and Ella.

They went home and changed clothes before sitting down to eat their lunch. Parker spent more time playing with his french fries than he did eating, but that was par for the course.

"Daddy," he said. "Can we go to the park today?"

"Yeah, buddy," Booth answered. "I thought maybe we could go and ride the carousel."

"Yay! And get ice cream, too?"

Booth laughed. Ice cream was always a good incentive with his son.

"Maybe," he hedged. "What would you think about Bones and Ella coming with us?"

"Okay," the little boy answered.

His father watched the boy intently. Parker didn't seem very enthusiastic about the idea, but neither did he seem to be bothered by it.

"We can go by ourselves, if you want," he offered. When he and Brennan had talked the night before about taking the kids to the park, she had insisted that if Parker showed any signs of needing or _wanting_ time alone with Booth, then they would give it to him.

"No, Daddy," Parker answered. "I wanna show Ella the care-sel. I can ride on the black horse and she can ride on a white one."

"That sounds like a plan, little man. So, we'll finish up here and go meet the girls at the park. We can play for a while and then get some dinner before it's time to take you back home to Mom's."

"'kay, Daddy," Parker said, dragging a fry through his ketchup.

"Eat up, Little Man," Booth told him. "I think we're going to make a run to the supermarket and surprise the ladies with a picnic supper, what do you think about that?"

"I love picnics! Can we have b'loney sandwiches?"

"I don't think so, Bub," his father answered. "We need to have something a little more substantial for dinner. We'll drop by the store and see what they have, okay?"

"Okay."

"We need to go down to the storage room and get the cooler, too."

Booth checked his watch.

"I'm probably gonna have to clean it up. We haven't used it since we went fishing with Pops last fall."

"I want to go fishing," Parker said.

"Not today," Booth replied with a chuckle. "We're going to the park, remember?"

"Does Ella like fishing?"

"I don't know, Parks. We have a lot to learn about Ella and her mom, don't we?"

"Yep!"

Booth stood up from the table, ruffling Parker's curls as he walked by.

"Finish your lunch, Parker," he said. "Or no ice cream."

"I am done," Parker replied, and his father looked down to check his progress.

"Two more bites of your cheeseburger," Booth said. "And then you can be done."

Booth worked to put the apartment right while Parker played Ninja Turtles in his room. He called Brennan to set up a meeting time and let her know that he was taking care of supper. He found himself mimicking her eye roll when she began to lecture him about preservative laden processed foods. He shook his head as he assured her that he would get something that met her exacting standards. He found himself smiling at the thought of having this particular 'argument' with her for many years to come.

After retrieving the cooler and cleaning it up, Booth packed it in the truck along with Parker and his gear to take back to Rebecca's and they headed out for the afternoon.

They stopped off at Whole Foods where Booth picked up some a green salad and some mixed fruit. He got some sandwiches, potato salad and some kind of fancy cold soup that he thought Bones would like. He added them to the cooler with the ice, water and juice boxes that were already there and they made their way to the park to meet the girls.

TBC

 **AN2 – Here we come to the end of another chapter. You know what to do.**


	14. Chapter 12

**AN – So, yes… I am aware that in real life, the blending of the family would have been much more difficult. But you see, I write fluff. Unashamedly.** **My stories typically go the best case scenario, with a little bit of real life thrown in… and I'm okay with that as long as the characterization is correct. With that said, let's get to the next chapter. There is a bit of a time jump in this one, and it is more adults, less kids. I also try to be very accurate about the places my characters visit… since this story is set so far in the past and I don't live in DC, some of the real places mentioned in the story may not have existed back then, so that is where I ask for artistic license.**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **CH 12**

"Bren, stop fidgeting."

"Angela," Brennan replied, "this is unnecessary. It's just dinner with Booth."

Angela immediately stopped what she was doing, and stared dumbfounded at her best friend's reflection in the mirror.

"A _date,_ Brennan. It' a date with Booth… your _first_ date with Booth."

"No," Brennan answered, matter-of-fact. "It isn't." She began running her fingers through her hair, effectively pulling apart the intricate up-do that Angela had been assembling.

Angela let out a long frustrated sigh, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Yes, it is, Sweetie. Sometimes I wish you would just get out of your own way. It's like… you don't want to be happy."

"Angela, it's not our first date," Brennan said, clarifying. "I've been out with Booth many times."

"With the kids!" Angela lamented. Sometimes she wished her best friend was just a little more 'girly.' "That doesn't count."

"Well," Brennan began, turning to face her friend. "We have children, so that is our reality. It does 'count' as you say, but that isn't what I meant. You seem to forget how Ella came into this world. Booth and I were together for six months."

"In the jungle," Angela said.

Not for the first time, Brennan reflected on her friendship with Angela. They were so different. She truly loved Angela, but there were times when she reminded her more of Ella than herself. The pout that she was expressing at the moment being one of them. She shook her head and responded.

"Six months is a long time, Ang," she said. "Particularly when you're away from civilization as you know it. I would have thought that you, of all people, would have found our history to be very romantic. Since you apparently discount it, I won't bore you with the details. Let it suffice to say that we didn't spend all of our time at the dig site… and our first date was very romantic. And very memorable."

Angela realized how petty she must have sounded.

"Oh, Bren," she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's all right, Angela," Brennan said, standing and walking toward the door. "I appreciate you keeping Ella tonight. I'll call you in the morning."

"Brennan, wait."

Angela followed her friend out into the living room where Ella was sitting on the floor and drawing in a sketchbook on the coffee table.

Brennan knelt down next to her daughter.

"That is a lovely drawing, Ella," she said.

"Thank you, mommy," the little girl answered.

"It's a flower," Ella replied. "Like the ones Daddy sended you today."

"I see that," Brennan replied with a smile, leaning into place a kiss against her little girl's head. "I'm going to go now," she said. "Be good for Auntie Angela. Daddy and I will call you before bedtime and I will see you in the morning."

"Okay, Mommy."

Brennan smiled as her daughter never looked up from her drawing. Like her mother, Ella had extreme focus when she put her mind to something. She picked up her bag from the table by the door and opened it to leave.

"Brennan," Angela said from across the room.

"I'll talk to you later, Ang," she answered. "Thank you, again."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Knock, knock," Booth called out as he let himself in to the apartment. "Bones?"

"I'm in the bedroom, Booth," she called back. "Make yourself comfortable and have a drink. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Take your time," he replied, walking into the kitchen. He went to the refrigerator and opened it, smiling to find his favorite beer.

It had been a few months since that weekend that he brought Parker over for the first time, and things had been going pretty well for his little family. The kids got along as well as kids do. There were some occasional squabbles over toys or even over "Daddy," but for the most part, things were good. Booth had been spending a few evenings a week with Brennan and Ella, and when Parker was with them on the weekends, they took outings as a family. The first time that he took Brennan and Ella with him to one of Parker's soccer games had been interesting. Brennan had been nervous about meeting Rebecca, but it turned out that the women got along well… both of them happy that their children were benefiting from having a sibling.

There had been a few weekends when Brennan insisted that Booth and Parker spent time alone without her and Ella. He had resisted at first, but he knew she was right. Ella got to spend time with him without Parker and it was only right that Parker got the same.

He sipped on his Yuengling as he walked around the apartment. Things had changed over the past few months, but it had been so organic that he hadn't even noticed. Brennan displayed photos of Parker right next to photos of Ella, and a photo of the four of them taken at the park in front of the carousel had found pride of place on the mantel. He glanced over at the shelf in the corner that held some of Ella's books and toys, some had been added there for Parker, as well.

He walked over to the window and looked out at the amazing view. Brennan definitely had great taste, and although they hadn't really talked about it, it was obvious that she was better off than he was financially. He'd never really thought about it before… Of course, three doctorates and being the best in her field would surely mean the Head of Forensic Anthropology at the Jeffersonian Institution got paid more than a government cop. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice her walking up behind him.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing really," he said as he began to turn around. "Just enjoy the v… Wow. Bones, you look amazing." He totally lost his train of thought when he saw her standing there, her hair down just the way he liked it. She was wearing an adorable pink sundress… very unlike anything he'd seen her in before. She was stunning.

"Thank you," she answered. "You look pretty good, yourself." She thought he looked good enough to eat in a great pair of jeans and a dark grey t-shirt that fit just right, showing off his muscles and tanned skin to perfection.

"Thanks," he responded, flashing her his famous smile. "You ready to go?"

"Yes," she said. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he said. "Grab a jacket." He looked down at her feet, and following her amazing legs down to a pair of strappy sandals with killer heels sent his mind in places that it should not be going… yet. "And as hot as those shoes are, I'm sure they're not comfortable. We're going to be walking a bit, you might want to change."

Brennan looked unsure, and he could tell she was thinking she made some sort of mistake.

"Bones," he said, taking her hand. "I meant it, you look fantastic. And I appreciate the effort that you went to in picking out this amazing outfit. But I want you to enjoy yourself and be comfortable."

"Okay," she replied. "I'll be right back."

She returned with a denim jacket slung over her arm. She had changed into a pair of flat sandals that complimented her dress and she still looked amazing.

"Ready," she said. "Where is your jacket?"

"Right here," he answered, picking it u. "Let's go."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Oh, Booth," Brennan said, as they walked hand in hand toward the row of canopied stands.

"I know this is more of a daytime activity," he said. "But I…"

"You wanted to recreate our first date," she said. "Booth, I love it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she answered, nodding.

"I mean, the Adams Morgan Farmer's Market isn't exactly the same as our village market in El Salvador, but it was the best I could do given the circumstances."

"I love it," she said. "We can pick up some produce to cook over the weekend."

"Then we'd better get to it," he said. "They'll be closing soon. I kinda just picked this place for the nostalgia. I didn't think you'd really want to shop."

"We can come back tomorrow to shop, if you want," she replied. "Ella and I often come here on the weekends."

As much as he loved his daughter, he liked the idea of spending time alone with the beautiful woman by his side. And he liked even more the idea of them doing something so domestic as shopping for produce.

"Nah," he said. "We can do it now. It's still early. We can shop and take the packages back to your place before heading out to dinner. Your neighborhood is much more walkable than mine."

They wandered through the market, laughing and just enjoying each other just like they had all those years ago in El Salvador. And just like in El Salvador, she spent a good amount of the time explaining what things were that he hadn't heard of before. Booth was definitely a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Brennan was enjoying introducing him to vegetables and new flavors. She was also enjoying the idea that he wouldn't be able to refuse when she wanted him to try something. She knew that he'd never expect the children to do something he didn't do himself, and they were always encouraging Ella and especially Parker, to try new foods.

"This has been fun," she said as they put the produce away in her kitchen. It was just starting to get dark outside, and she knew that Booth had planned an entire evening for them. "What are we doing next?"

"Well," he said, taking her in his arms. "I thought we'd continue the walking tour of the neighborhood. Next up, dinner at Roofers Union… and then I thought maybe we'd hit Madam's Organ for some drinks and dancing."

"That sounds wonderful," she replied, looking up into his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. She was only beginning to realize that maybe Angela was right. It had been a very long time since she'd been out without Ella, and even longer that she'd been on a date.

They finished putting away the produce and headed out to walk to the restaurant. They were seated at a table on the rooftop dining patio, and the view of the neighborhood was outstanding. They both ordered a local microbrew as they looked over the menu. Booth went for the House burger, and Brennan chose the Quinoa Black Bean burger.

They held hands across the table and enjoyed their beers as they looked out over Adams Morgan. Brennan laughed out loud as Booth told her a story about something one of the rookie agents had gotten into at the office.

It felt so good just being together like this. It felt right, and the distance created between them by their five years apart was quickly closing in.

Booth looked at his watch.

"We should probably call Ella soon," he said.

Brennan sighed.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "Except that I sort-of got into an argument with Angela when I dropped Ella off this afternoon."

"What happened?" he asked.

"She wanted to help me get ready for tonight," she began.

"Well," he said, interrupting. "I'm no expert, but that's sort of what best girlfriends do."

"I know," she agreed. "And that's why I agreed to let her. But you would have thought she was getting me ready for a wedding, or a prom at the very least. She was doing this intricate updo…"

"I like your hair down," he said, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.

"I know that," she replied simply. "And that was one of the reasons I stopped her. I know you, and I knew you wouldn't be planning some formal event for the first time we were able to get out alone together…"

Suddenly, he began to second guess his plans.

"Should I have?"

"Of course not," she answered. "This is perfect. But you already knew that. The argument happened when she accused me of not caring enough about our first date…"

"But this isn't our first date," he said.

"Exactly. And that's what I told her."

Booth squeezed her hand a little tighter. He could see the pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Bones," he said.

"It hurt," she admitted. "It hurt that she could think I wouldn't care about something as special as our first date. But it actually hurt even more when I realized she assumed what we had in El Salvador was just sex."

"Oh, Baby," he said. "She didn't know you then. And she barely knows me now. Look, I like Angela. But she has a habit of putting her nose in where it doesn't belong… especially when it comes to our relationship. That being said, she loves you. She thinks of you like a sister and she just wants you to be happy…"

"I am happy," she said simply.

"And that makes me happy," he replied. "You two will be fine. And she's not going to try to start a conversation about this when we call to check on Ella. We're in the middle of the date she was trying so hard to make sure went smoothly."

Brennan took out her phone to make the call and they both got to bid their little girl goodnight. Just as they were finishing their call, the waitress arrived with their food. They enjoyed their sandwiches and twice-fried fries. They had a couple more beers and enjoyed light conversation while they ate their dinner.

Booth told her about the band that was playing at the club. They were a local blues band that had been getting some national attention. Booth had seen a write up on them in the Going Out Guide in the Post. He'd been looking forward to seeing them, and was sure Brennan would like them, too. Thinking about the nightclub where he'd planned to wrap up the evening led him to think about what might happen when it was time to go home. They hadn't really talked about it, but Bones had arranged for Ella to stay overnight with Angela…

"You know," Booth said. "It was nice of Ang to keep Ella all night. I know Parker can be a bear when he gets picked up from the sitter late at night."

"That isn't why she's keeping Ella, Booth."

"It's not?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "It's not. I asked Angela to keep Ella overnight because I was hoping that you would be staying with me overnight."

TBC

 **AN2 – I know that notifications have been spotty at best, so I'm glad you found this chapter and thank you for reading it. It would be awesome if you'd take a minute to leave a review.**


	15. Chapter 13

**AN – FF dot net was being a bit wonky with my last couple of updates. I don't think notifications went out on the last two… so make sure you've seen them. There was a bit of forward movement leading up to this chapter. Also, I'd like to apologize for the delay(s) in updating. Last week, my dad had surgery and the week before, I launched a new venture as a Scentsy consultant (message me if you need some great wax scents and/or warmers and I'll send you my website :)** **) and I used up all my "ahead" chapters. So, from now on, I'll be posting as I write, but I'll do my best to keep up and keep the updates coming.**

 **The Twist in the Past**

 **Ch 13**

Booth was laughing at the story Brennan had just told him as he followed her into her apartment. As she went to the kitchen to get a drink, he made his way into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. It both amazed him, and didn't surprise him at all, the ease at which he and Bones interacted. He watched her walls fall away over the past few months and the distance between them, created by five years apart, had slowly closed in to the point that being together was as natural as it had been in those later months in El Salvador.

He looked up and smiled as Brennan sat down next him. She leaned in close, bumping shoulders as she handed him a bottle.

"Thanks," he said.

"Or did you want something stronger?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "This is good."

"I had a really good time tonight," she said quietly, looking down at their laps.

He was surprised to see her demure response, but had to admit he liked it."

"Me, too," he replied, reaching over to take her hand in his. He linked their fingers together and raised them to his lips. "It was a great date."

"Was?" she asked. "That implies that it's over."

"Isn't it?" he asked.

He knew from her announcement back at the restaurant that she intended for them to spend the night together. He had changed the subject then, and intended to let her take the lead now.

"Booth," she said. "I told you before, I asked Angela to keep Ella tonight so that we can spend the night together. You want that, too, don't you?"

"Yeah, baby," he said, reaching in for a kiss. "I do." If he had his way, he'd be spending every night with her, but it was probably a little too soon to be sharing that thought.

She stood, and motioned for him to follow her to her bedroom.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

Brennan felt the warm sun on her face. She smiled as she began to stretch, a delicious ache reminding her of how she'd spent her evening. Of course, she needed no reminding as a warm, strong arm pulled her tighter against the man spooning at her back.

"Mornin' Bones," he said, and she shivered at the feeling of his hot breath in her ear and his stubble against her neck.

"Good morning, Booth," she said. "I trust you slept well."

"Best night's sleep I've had in a long time," he said, dropping a kiss behind her ear. "I could get used to this," he said, giving her a little squeeze with the arm draped over her waist. "But you, my dear, are going to have to learn to be a little quieter… we're not going to be able to send Ella for a sleepover every night."

"Every night?" she asked, biting back the smile that spread across her lips. She was happy he couldn't see her face. "Booth, what makes you think we'll be doing this again?"

"Are you kidding me? It's been five years, Bones. We have a lot of time to make up for."

"Exactly, Booth. It's been five years. I'm good for at least couple of years now."

Booth looked up over her shoulder to see their reflections. He smiled as he saw her biting her lip. The little minx. He loved this playful side of her that he hadn't seen a whole lot of since they'd been reunited.

"Teasing doesn't become you," he said, with a quick kiss to her cheek.

"That's such an odd turn of phrase, don't you think?" she said. "I mean, you're saying that it doesn't flatter me… but a certain part of your anatomy pressing against my back would seem to say otherwise."

He loved the sound of her laughter as he flipped them over so she was on her back and he was over her.

"I'll flatter you, all right," he said, leaning in to kiss her soundly.

And he proceeded to show her just how flattered he was.

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"You want blueberries in your pancakes?" he called out.

"Yes, please," she answered, walking in to the kitchen.

She walked over to the coffee maker to pour a cup.

"Do you have plans for the day?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head. "Becca took Parks to her parents' this weekend. I'm footloose and fancy free. I actually kind of hoped to be hanging out with you and Ella."

"That would be acceptable," she said, smiling over her coffee mug.

"Acceptable?" he said, glancing back over his shoulder as he flipped pancakes. "Don't be so excited there, Bones."

"Booth, I think I've given you enough fodder for building your ego over the last twelve hours or so…"

He just shook his head. Life with Brennan was definitely going to keep him on his toes.

"After breakfast," she said. "We can go and pick up our daughter…"

 _Our daughter_ , she would never know how much he loved hearing her say things like that.

"And then?" he asked. "Did you have a plan for the day?"

"Well," she said. "I thought we might go to Rock Creek Park. Ella loves the Nature Center, and I thought that you would enjoy taking her for a pony ride the Horse Center."

"That sounds like fun," he said. "We can run by my place on the way to Angela's so I can change. Maybe we could pack a picnic."

"That is a good idea," she agreed. "I can make a salad with some of the vegetables we got last night. We can pick up some sandwiches at the deli on your block. Ella really liked their Turkey and Avocado Wrap."

"Great idea," he said. "They make a killer Reuben."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

The couple stood outside the door to Angela's apartment.

"You know you need to talk to her, Bones," Booth said, giving the hand he held in his a gentle squeeze. "Maybe Ella and I can take a little walk and give you two time to clear the air."

"I don't know, Booth…"

"Babe," he said, smiling as she rolled her eyes. He knew the endearment annoyed her, but he was determined to wear her down. "Waiting isn't going to make it any easier. And you know that Angela didn't mean any harm, she just didn't think about what her words would imply. She loves you and wants you to be happy. Talk to her. Let her know that she hurt your feelings, I'm sure that is killing her. Let her apologize and move on. She's your best friend. You can't stay mad at her for long."

"I told you, Booth," she said, looking up at him with a determined look in her eyes. "I'm not angry with her. I was just hurt."

"I know," he said, placing a gentle kiss against her lips as he reached up to press the doorbell. "But you'll feel better once you've talked to her about it."

Before she had the chance to reply, the door opened to a smiling Angela Montenegro. Booth could see that there was a tentativeness behind her smile.

"Hey, Ang," he said.

"Booth," she greeted. "I didn't expect to see you this morning."

"Sure you didn't," he said, flashing her a wink and a smile.

"Good morning, Angela," Brennan said.

"Hi, Sweetie," Angela answered. "Come on in."

She stepped back, allowing Booth and Brennan to follow her into the apartment just as a little blue-eyed whirlwind came running around the corner.

"Daddy!" Ella said, practically jumping into his arms.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Booth replied, scooping her up and kissing her cheek.

"I didn't know you were coming with Mommy to get me."

"I thought it might be fun for Daddy to spend the day with us," Brennan said. "Would you like that?"

"Yay!" Ella cheered.

"Give Mommy a hug and kiss," Booth said, setting Ella down on her feet. "Then grab your backpack. We'll go take your stuff down to the car while Mommy and Auntie Ang have a little talk."

"Booth," Brennan said as Ella scampered off to the bedroom.

Booth smiled and leaned in to drop a kiss on her forehead.

"You'll be fine," he said. "Ready Princess?"

"Yes, Daddy," Ella replied.

"Let's go," he said, scooping up the little girl in his arms as she dissolved in a fit of giggles. He turned back to the women as he stepped out the door. "We'll be back in a little while."

He gave Brennan a wink and disappeared out the door.

Brennan and Angela watched as the door closed behind Booth and Ella.

"That was subtle," Angela said drolly.

"I'm sorry," both women said at once.

"Let's go sit," Angela said. "You want something to drink?"

"No," Brennan replied. "I'm fine."

"Bren, I'm sorry. Really. I was just so excited for you and Booth, I wasn't thinking. It was stupid. You have every right to be mad at me."

"That's just it, Angela," Brennan replied. "I'm not angry. I never was. But I _was_ hurt. The time that Booth and I spent in Central America was very special to me. And I felt that not only did you discount it, but you cheapened it."

"Oh Bren. I really am sorry," Angela said. "Can you forgive me?"

"Yes," Brennan replied. "Ang, you are my best friend. And I know that you care for Ella and me. And I appreciate that, I really do…"

"…but maybe I should think before I speak?" Angela said, flashing a self-deprecating grin. She laughed as Brennan nodded in agreement. "Now," she said. "I want to hear all about your date…"

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"Daddy," Ella said, "Where are we going? Aren't we taking Mommy with us?"

"Yeah, Princess," Booth answered his little girl. "When we go, we're taking Mommy with us. But right now, we are going to take a little walk and give Mommy and Auntie Angela time to talk."

He glanced at his watch.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Nowhere, really," her daddy answered. "Maybe we'll just go around the block. I don't think we need to be gone too long. But I want to give Mommy some time."

"Did you and Mommy have fun last night?" she asked.

Booth laughed out loud.

"Yes, we did," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Auntie Ang'la said you took Mommy on a date, and a date is when grown-ups go out to have fun."

"That's true," he answered. "And Mommy and I had a lot of fun."

"Can we go on a date today?"

"I think that would be fun," Booth said. "Mommy and I packed a picnic lunch and we thought you might like to go to the Nature Center."

"Yay!" Ella cheered. "I love the Nature Center. I want to play with the turtles and see the bees! Mommy doesn't like the snakes."

"She doesn't?" Booth asked.

"No," Ella answered, matter-of-fact. "She's scared of them."

"I don't know, Doodlebug. I've never known your mommy to be scared of anything."

"Well, she's scared of snakes. You'll see."

Booth laughed, but realized a change of subject might be in order.

"What did you and Auntie Angela do last night?"

"We drawed pictures and watched movies. We camped out in Auntie Ang'la's bed and we ate pizza for dinner."

"Oh, yeah? That does sound like fun."

"What did you and Mommy do?"

"We took a walk around the neighborhood," he began.

"Just like us right now!" Ella exclaimed, interrupting.

"Yeah, Princess," he agreed. "Kind of like right now. We went to the Farmer's Market and got some veggies…"

"Mommy likes the Farmers Market," Ella said.

"She does," Booth agreed.

"Mommy said it 'minds her of you," the little girl told him.

"Oh really?" Booth said with a smile. "She did, did she?"

"Yep," Ella said. "Even 'fore you camed here. She said my Daddy used to take her to a market like that."

Booth smiled. He knew that Brennan had always told Ella about him, but to hear it from his little girl… knowing that, in a way, he had always been a part of her life, made him happier than he imagined.

"I did," he told her. "In fact, the very first time I took your Mommy on a date, it was to a market like that."

"What else did you do? On your date, I mean. I'm sure buying veg'tables is not really a lot of fun."

Booth laughed.

"Can I tell you a secret? Any time I spend with your Mommy is fun. But we went to dinner and then we went to listen to music."

"Is Parker coming to the Nature Center with us?"

Booth just shook his head. There are lots of 180s when you're conversing with a four-year-old.

"No, Princess," he answered. "Parker isn't coming with us. He went with his mommy to visit his grandparents."

"Do I have grandparents?"

"Well," he answered. "You have a great-grandfather. Pops is my grandfather. Maybe we'll take a trip to visit him soon."

"Where does he live?" Ella asked.

"In Philadelphia," Booth told her. "That's where Daddy grew up."

"Mommy growed up in Ohio," Ella said. "And I was borned in Chi-ca-go… b'fore Mommy and me moved to Cal'fornia."

"That's right, Ella. You're very smart," her daddy said proudly.

"Where was Parker borned?"

"Parker was born right here in DC," he said.

"You think Mommy is done talking to Auntie Ang'la now? I really want to go to the park."

"I don't know, Princess. Why don't we go and find out?"

 **~~~BnB~~~**

"So, when are you moving in together?" Angela asked.

"What?" Brennan said, surprised. She truly hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it," her friend said. "It's the next logical step. You know that Booth is already preparing for it.

"I don't know, Ang," Brennan replied. "Do you really think so?"

"Well, yeah," Angela replied. "I'm sure it's been on Special Agent Studmuffin's mind ever since he set eyes on you and Ella. That man wants nothing more than for the three of you, and Parker, to be one big happy family."

"We _are_ a family, Angela," Brennan said, surprised at how defensive she felt.

"Yeah, and families live together."

"I honestly haven't thought about it, Angela. But I assume you're right. I do like having him and Parker around. And Ella would definitely benefit from having two fulltime parents. That is something that Booth and I will have to discuss."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

"And there is your family now," Angela said, a smile spreading across her face. "Come on in, Booth!"

The door opened and Booth followed his daughter into the apartment.

"Mommy, are you and Auntie Ang'la done talking yet? Daddy said we were going to the Nature Center and I REALLY want to play with the turtles."

"You heard the young lady, Bones," Booth said, grinning. "The turtles are calling."

"Yes, sweetheart," Brennan replied to her daughter. "I'm ready. We can go."

 **~~~BnB~~~**

They spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Nature Center. Ella had a good time showing her daddy one of her favorite places. They had fun playing with the turtles and watching the birds. Ella explained to Daddy all about how the bee colony worked, and they even got Mommy to go near the snake exhibit. After lunch, they went hiking on the Woodland Trail and had their picnic before Booth and Brennan surprised their little girl with a pony ride at the Horse Center. All in all, it was a pretty wonderful day. Booth told the girls how much he loved it and how he'd like to come back with Parker next time. Ella was sure her brother would love it as much as she did.

TBC

 **AN2 - So, there you have it. I think there might be a couple of chapters left in this one to wrap it up, but I've pretty much told the tale I wanted to tell. Hopefully the next update will be in a couple of days. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review so I know you were here.**


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